Ease of access for persons belonging to national minorities to courts and tribunals should also be factored into their geographic distribution around the country, or measures to facilitate access to more distant courts and tribunals should be put in place (see Recommendation 4). Persons belonging to national minorities should be able to communicate in a language they understand, and preferably in their language, during proceedings and in their communication with judicial and national human rights institutions (see Recommendation 3). The burden of proof should shift to the defendant or the Government once a prima facie case of discrimination has been established.12 iii. The right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial body established by law13 Like everyone, persons belonging to national minorities should be afforded an effective opportunity to challenge any private or public act that interferes with their rights.14 As bias and systemic discrimination often affect members of national minorities (as well as other marginalized groups), it is important to underline that national minorities should have their cases heard by courts, tribunals and national human rights institutions that are grounded in the principles of impartiality and independence, and that are free of bias against minorities and against women belonging to national minorities in particular, on an equal footing with anyone else in their society.15 Moreover, heightened judicial scrutiny should be applied to cases where persons belonging to national minorities are victims, defendants or plaintiffs in order to establish whether hate or discrimination may have played a role in the case in question, and should therefore constitute an aggravating circumstance. 12 13 14 15 See for instance, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Nachova v Bulgaria, Application No. 43577/98 and 43579/98, 6 July 2005; Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Centrum voor gelijkheid van kansen en voor racismebestrijding v Firma Feryn NV, Case C-54/07, 10 July 2008; CJEU, Patrick Kelly v National University of Ireland (University College, Dublin), Case C-104/10, 21 July 2011; CJEU, Galina Meister v Speech Design Carrier Systems GmbH, Case C-415/10, 19 April 2012 and CJEU, Asociaţia Accept v Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminării, Case C-81/12, 25 April 2013. See also UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2015) General recommendation on women’s access to justice, paragraph 15(g). International Covenant on Civil Political Rights (1976) article 14; and European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) article 6. In this context, States should consider introducing systems of e-justice to enhance the expediency and efficiency of justice. Close attention needs to be paid to ensuring that e-justice does not further complicate access to justice for persons belonging to national minorities who may have limited access to information technology or may lack the necessary training to make use of e-justice systems. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2015) General Recommendation on women’s access to justice, paragraph 28. The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities 13