F. Access to a Lawyer The right of access to legal assistance 39. An individual has a right to have access to the services of a lawyer to assist them to prepare their defence and at all stages of the proceedings.566 This encompasses the following: 40. The right requires prompt access to a lawyer,567 from the early stages of the investigation, as well as the ability to meet with them in private and confidentially.568 41. Every individual can represent themselves in court proceedings and consequently should not be obliged to take any lawyer appointed by the state.569 This is not an absolute right and can be restricted if the interests of justice require, such as if there is a persistent obstruction to the conduct of the trial, the individual is unable to act in their own interests, or the witnesses are particularly vulnerable.570 The individual should be informed, however, of the right to access legal assistance.571 42. There is a right to be defended by a lawyer of one’s own choosing.572 This applies to both criminal and civil proceedings.573 However, this is not an absolute right and can be denied when an individual relies on legal aid, or in order to ensure standards of professional conduct are maintained. Similarly it is a right which can also be waived. 43. Counsel should be ‘able to advise and to represent persons charged with a criminal offence in accordance with generally recognized professional ethics without restrictions, influence, pressure or undue interference from any quarter’.574 44. The Human Rights Committee has noted that access to legal assistance needs to be: - Prompt; - Obtained privately; 566 Article 14(3)(d) ICCPR. Article 16(4) Arab Charter; Article 14 Palestinian Basic Law. Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 34. See Arab Charter, Article 16(1). 568 Ibid. 569 Human Rights Committee Communications 623/1995, 624/1995, 626/1995, 627/1995,Domukovsky and Others v Georgia, 29 May 1998. 570 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 37. 571 UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, para 1. 572 Article 14(3)(b) ICCPR. 573 UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, para 5. 574 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 34. 567 105