and the right to equality before the courts is recognised by Article 10 UDHR as well as Article 14(1) ICCPR and Article 12 of the Arab Charter. 28. The crucial aspect of the right to a fair trial is that it is not simply a matter for the State to respect the right to a fair trial. Governments must also put into place a legal and institutional framework to protect it. As such the right to a fair trial requires the State to provide, amongst other things:  Availability of legal assistance, including legal aid;  A prosecution service; and  A trained and independent judiciary. 29. Furthermore, as the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers has reiterated, ‘access to justice should be unrestricted and effective’.546 This includes:  There should be no discrimination and coercion;  Conditions should favour the admissibility of the action;  The necessary legal assistance should be provided;  Remedies should be genuinely able to achieve the desired objective. 547 30. Systematic attempts to prevent individuals accessing courts or tribunals will violate this right.548 31. The right of equal access does not necessarily apply to the right to appeal, and is focused on procedures at the first instance.549 32. This right of access is available to ‘all individuals, regardless of nationality or statelessness, or whatever their status, whether asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers, unaccompanied children or other persons, who may find themselves in the territory or subject to the jurisdiction’.550 33. Access to court is not an absolute right; restrictions are permitted but only in so far as they have are prescribed by law, pursue a legitimate aim on objective and reasonable grounds, and are proportionate, and if such a restriction would undermine the essence of the right itself.551 Reasonable limitation periods and time limits can be lawful,552 as are reasonable fees if appropriate for the administration of justice.553 546 Report of Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, A/HRC/8/4, 13th May 2008, para 20. 547 Ibid. 548 Human Rights Committee, Communication No.468/1991, Oló Bahamonde v Equatorial Guinea, 20 October 1993, para 9.4. 549 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 12. 550 Ibid, para 9. 551 Ibid, paras 9 and 18. 552 Stubbings v UK, European Court, 22 October 1996 553 Human Rights Committee Communication 1514/2006, Casanovas v France, 28 October 2008, para 113. 103