Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

V
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 99
dynamic, participatory, open to innovative practical measures,
gender-sensitive, and take account of the increasing demands
for justice by women”. 246 Legal systems need to reform and
develop to achieve this good quality of justice. The Committee
has therefore called on States to: “Conduct and facilitate
qualitative studies and critical gender analysis in collaboration
with civil society organizations as well as academic institutions
of all justice systems in order to highlight practices, procedures
and jurisprudence that promote or limit women’s full access to
justice; and [s]ystematically apply the findings of this analysis
in order to develop priorities, policies, legislation and
procedures to ensure that all components of the justice system
are gender sensitive, user friendly and accountable”. 247
As discussed above, especially under Chapter IV, all persons
have a right to an effective remedy and reparation for human
rights violations under general international law, including in
the context of discrimination against women and gender-based
violence against women. The CEDAW Committee has made it
clear that States have an obligation under the CEDAW
Convention to provide access to a legal remedy for
discrimination, even if the CEDAW Convention does not
expressly provide for a right to a remedy. 248 Other United
Nations treaty bodies responsible for the oversight of other
universal human rights treaties without express remedial
provisions have come to a similar conclusion. 249 The CEDAW
Committee considers that such a right is implied in the
Convention, in particular by Article 2(c) which requires States
246
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 232,
paragraph 14(d).
247
Ibid, paragraph 20(e) and (f).
248
Vertido v Philippines, CEDAW Communication 18/2008, UN Doc
CEDAW/C/46/D/18/2008 (2010), paragraph 8.3.
249
See, for example: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General
Comment No 12, “The right of the child to be heard”, UN Doc
CRC/C/GC/12 (2009), paragraph 48; and Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No 9, “The domestic
application of the Covenant”, UN Doc E/C.12/1998/24 (1998),
paragraphs 2 and 3.