5. CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD 94 Access to legal advice and information about legal proceedings must be provided regardless of the personal wealth of a prisoner. Prisoners need to have access to legal representation, whether they themselves can afford to hire a lawyer or not. The inclusion of provisions on legal aid in the Mandela Rules (Rules 54(b), 61 and 120) underline the requirement to provide assistance to those otherwise unable to afford legal representation.316 95 Legal aid schemes are a fundamental tool for ensuring equality before the law, equal protection of the law, the right to a fair trial and the right to an effective remedy for human rights violations. The UN Legal Aid Principles and Guidelines recognize “that legal aid is an essential element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law and that it is a foundation for the enjoyment of other rights, including the right to a fair trial, as a precondition to exercising such rights and an important safeguard that ensures fundamental fairness and public trust in the criminal justice process”.317 Safeguard against human rights violations 96 Effective legal advice and representation constitute a fundamental safeguard against torture and other ill‑treatment and can constitute a deterrent against human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. 97 Legal representatives can advise prisoners on complaints procedures and other avenues for taking action. If prisoners feel unable to lodge a complaint themselves, a legal representative can do so on their behalf. 5 316. ICCPR, UNGA, op. cit., note 153, Article 14.3: states that “In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality (...) (d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it”. 132 Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules