United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems A/RES/67/187 59. To ensure the effective implementation of nationwide legal aid schemes, States should consider establishing a legal aid body or authority to provide, administer, coordinate and monitor legal aid services. Such a body should: (a) Be free from undue political or judicial interference, be independent of the Government in decision-making related to legal aid and not be subject to the direction, control or financial intimidation of any person or authority in the performance of its functions, regardless of its administrative structure; (b) Have the necessary powers to provide legal aid, including but not limited to the appointment of personnel; the designation of legal aid services to individuals; the setting of criteria and accreditation of legal aid providers, including training requirements; the oversight of legal aid providers and the establishment of independent bodies to handle complaints against them; the assessment of legal aid needs nationwide; and the power to develop its own budget; (c) Develop, in consultation with key justice sector stakeholders and civil society organizations, a long-term strategy guiding the evolution and sustainability of legal aid; (d) Report periodically to the responsible authority. Guideline 12 Funding the nationwide legal aid system 60. Recognizing that the benefits of legal aid services include financial benefits and cost savings throughout the criminal justice process, States should, where appropriate, make adequate and specific budget provisions for legal aid services that are commensurate with their needs, including by providing dedicated and sustainable funding mechanisms for the national legal aid system. 61. To this end, States could take measures: (a) To establish a legal aid fund to finance legal aid schemes, including public defender schemes, to support legal aid provision by legal or bar associations; to support university law clinics; and to sponsor non-governmental organizations and other organizations, including paralegal organizations, in providing legal aid services throughout the country, especially in rural and economically and socially disadvantaged areas; (b) To identify fiscal mechanisms for channelling funds to legal aid, such as: (i) Allocating a percentage of the State’s criminal justice budget to legal aid services that are commensurate with the needs of effective legal aid provision; (ii) Using funds recovered from criminal activities through seizures or fines to cover legal aid for victims; (c) To identify and put in place incentives for lawyers to work in rural areas and economically and socially disadvantaged areas (e.g., tax exemptions or reductions, student loan payment reductions); (d) To ensure fair and proportional distribution of funds between prosecution and legal aid agencies. 62. The budget for legal aid should cover the full range of services to be provided to persons detained, arrested or imprisoned, suspected or accused of, or charged with a criminal offence, and to victims. Adequate special funding should be 17/20