A/HRC/42/37/Add.2 judicial system. The normative framework and institutional structures needed to be established from zero and deal with a complex post-conflict situation. Few trained legal personnel remained in Timor-Leste after the end of the Indonesian occupation and this continues to present challenges to the administration of justice. 23. While progress has been achieved, access to the formal justice system remains tenuous for the majority of the population. Courts have only been established in four locations. In addition to Dili, three district courts exist, located in Baucau, Suai and Oecusse. This means in practice that geographic access is extremely difficult for most people, especially in rural areas. The capacity of the justice system remains limited and it struggles with a backlog of thousands of cases. A donor project which sought to expand the presence of mobile courts pending the establishment of additional district courts has been temporally suspended for funding reasons. The Special Rapporteur notes the positive step taken by the Government in indicating its willingness to assume the costs of continuing the mobile court system, and encourages the undertaking of an assessment to inform its design. 24. Language is a major impediment in ensuring access to justice. Most judges were trained in Bahasa Indonesia under Indonesian rule and are now required to operate in the official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. The judiciary thus operates in languages that are not mother tongue for the majority of the population. Furthermore, knowledge of local languages among judges, prosecutors and public defenders is often limited (A/HRC/19/58/Add.1, para. 46). Only in 2017 was Tetum explicitly recognized as an official language in the judicial sector, 6 and interpreters in indigenous mother-tongue languages remain unavailable. Surveys have shown that the majority of the Timorese have little knowledge of the formal justice system and of concepts such as “prosecutor” and “lawyer” and that one third of those who have been to court did not understand the procedures followed.7 25. During Indonesian occupation indigenous customary justice practices were restricted; however, since 2002 they are becoming increasingly revitalized. For most Timorese, these customary practices are an integral part of everyday life and play a central role in resolving disputes between individuals and communities, such as land disputes, conflict between communities and natural resources management. The Special Rapporteur was repeatedly told that customary justice is the natural first resort for the vast majority of the population. 26. While the Constitution affirms that the State recognizes and values the norms and customs of Timor-Leste that are not contrary to the Constitution, it does not indicate how this should be undertaken. There is, however, another provision in the Constitution which suggests the possibility of formal engagement between the formal legal system and the customary system, namely section 123 (5) on categories of courts, which states that “the law may institutionalize means and ways for the non-jurisdictional resolution of disputes”. However, to date, neither the Constitution, the Penal Code nor other legislation has been adopted to give concrete guidance on how such customs should be recognized in practice. 27. The vast majority of legal conflicts are settled in the customary justice system at the hamlet (aldeia) or village (suco) level. These are decided by the traditional Elder (Lia Nain) or the elected suco council according to customary rules established by the local community. The rules are based on spiritual traditions of sacred practice which for many centuries have regulated community relationships. The Lia Nain is considered to be the transmitter of knowledge and traditions from the ancestors to the present generation. 28. Customary justice thus takes into account spiritual beliefs but also the importance of community harmony and equilibrium with the environment. It safeguards harmony with nature by regulating the use of natural resources to ensure their sustainability. Furthermore, 6 7 Decree-law No. 11 /2017 on the official languages to be used in the justice sector, 29 March 2017. M. Hirst, Access to Justice Brief: Community Dispute Resolution in Timor Leste – A Legal and Human Rights Analysis (United States Agency for International Development, 2016), p. 8; and A. Kovar, “Customary law and domestic violence in Timor-Leste”, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Timor-Leste, 2011, p. 29. 5