Heightened judicial scrutiny should also be applied to cases where hate or discrimination prevented the protection of a person or persons belonging to national minorities under the law and to ensure that their rights are upheld.16 The presumption of innocence should also apply equally to persons belonging to national minorities. Guarantees against excessive pre-trial detention for national minorities (for instance in cases where such persons have no permanent residence or domicile) should be put in place. Petitions for release should be judged by a competent, independent and impartial court and persons belonging to national minorities should not be held arbitrarily. The onus to request (continued) pre-trial detention of persons belonging to national minorities should be on the prosecution, and courts should provide specific reasoning to uphold decisions to continue detention. Equality of arms between defence and prosecution in criminal cases should also be upheld for defendants from minority backgrounds. This means that the same procedural rights should be afforded to persons belonging to national minorities. Equality of arms requires that minorities be also given the opportunity to contest all the arguments and evidence presented, in their language if warranted. Proceedings involving persons belonging to minority communities should not be delayed unduly and national minorities should not be prevented, in law or in practice, from appealing a judicial decision. No lesser credibility should be assigned to testimonies from persons belonging to minority communities owing to their gender, appearance, dress, demeanour, language or cultural conventions. iv. The right to legal assistance The right to bring an action and to a fair hearing is underpinned by the notion that persons involved in criminal, civil or administrative proceedings are entitled to legal assistance to present and defend their case. Enabling national minorities to defend their rights in legal proceedings by making legal services available to them will address many of the concerns they may have in relation to the administration of justice. Legal services, which should be provided in a language they understand and preferably in their language, include free legal aid but also other forms of assistance, such as access to court liaison offices to support isolated minority communities, mobile courts, on-line court services, legal education, access to legal information and other services that national human rights institutions may provide. In addition, persons belonging to minority communities should not be unfairly excluded from legal assistance 16 14 See for example, ECtHR, Paraskeva Todorova v Bulgaria, Application No. 37193/07, 25 March 2009; ECtHR, Nachova v Bulgaria, Application Nos. 43577/98 and 43579/98, 6 July 2005. The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities