ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES make notes and with postage for letters to lawyers when they are unable to afford it themselves’.182 This should be read as including the facilitation of more modern forms of communication. Effective access to legal advice requires, as mentioned, measures to be taken by the central prison administration or policy-makers respectively. These include the following: •  Provide prison administrations with accessible information sheets for prisoners in the languages spoken within the prison population. •  Provide a contact where prison administrations can access a translator, including Braille. •  Provide legal aid schemes which are accessible to persons in prisons, in the context of criminal procedures and for other (e.g. personal) matters. •  Enshrine access to legal representation in the national prison laws and rules. •  Ensure prison facilities have the necessary visiting rooms which provide the confidentiality required for meetings with legal advisers. While prison administrations may want to see some confirmation of an individual’s function/ qualification as legal adviser, the experts stressed that the term should not be interpreted narrowly in light of the rationale of this provision. Persons from poor and marginalised backgrounds, with limited financial means and little access to education are usually overrepresented in prison populations, making support even more relevant. Imprisonment by definition implies reduced means to take care of one’s affairs, especially those requiring ‘legal literacy’. At the same time many countries lack the resources and capacity to provide comprehensive legal aid by lawyers. Access to legal advice in the context of prison should therefore encompass all possible ways for prisoners to avail themselves of support. Conditions of visits from legal advisers and permissible restrictions are defined in Rule 61(1), which are generally applicable, including in the pre-trial context (pursuant to Rule 120(1)). Legal aid Incorporation of provisions relating to legal aid in the Nelson Mandela Rules follows the adoption, in 2012, of the UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems.183 The Principles and Guidelines define legal aid as including ‘legal advice, assistance and representation for persons detained, arrested or imprisoned, suspected or accused of, or charged with a criminal offence and for victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process that is provided at no cost for those without sufficient means or when the interests of justice so require’.184 The Principles and Guidelines recognise that ‘legal aid is an essential element of a functioning criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law, a foundation for the enjoyment of other rights, including the right to a fair trial, and an important safeguard that ensures fundamental fairness and public trust in the criminal justice process’ (Principle 1, paragraph 14). Guideline 6 Commentary to EPR, commentary on Rule 23, with reference to ECtHR, Cotlet v Romania, 3 June 2003, appl. Nr. 38565/97. 182  UN General Assembly, 67th Session, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2012: 67/187. United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, 28 March 2013, A/ RES/67/187 (Legal Aid Principles and Guidelines). 183  The Legal Aid Principles and Guidelines acknowledge that states employ different models for the provision of legal aid, and list as examples ‘public defenders, private lawyers, contract lawyers, pro bono schemes, bar associations, paralegals and others’ (para. 8, 10). 184  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 52