persons belonging to minority communities, and minority women in particular. Lastly, gender-sensitive legal aid policies should be designed and implemented for persons belonging to minorities who have been victims or witnesses of serious crimes, including sexual crimes, to minimize the risks of repeat victimization and secondary victimization (see Recommendation 7).31 The supply side of legal services also needs to be carefully organized. While sufficient resources need to be allocated to legal aid providers, a data-driven system for quality control is also very important. A code of conduct for legal aid providers also needs to be developed, which should contain provisions that protect the interests of clients irrespective of their background, and include a responsibility to act impartially, independently and with integrity.32 Training on minority issues and inter-ethnic relations should be given to providers of legal services. Depending on the context, the provision of independent legal aid can be under the direct responsibility of a ministry or another State agency, or be outsourced by the State to private law firms, individual lawyers or civil society organizations. Geography does not only matter to the distribution of courts and tribunals around the country, but also to the supply of legal assistance, especially in States where national minorities tend to live in significant numbers in remote areas. Initiatives to address the geographic isolation of national minorities can include the establishment of court liaison offices in their communities to facilitate access to judicial institutions. Where relevant, such court liaison offices should communicate in a language that national minorities understand and preferably in their language. Their services can include: offering legal aid for criminal, civil and administrative cases; transporting parties to attend court; providing legal information on issues affecting minority communities; facilitating document certification; and liaising with civil society organizations that can support minority communities in their interaction with the judiciary. Mobile courts that visit minority communities in remote locations for short periods of time to hear cases are another way of facilitating access to justice for persons belonging to minority communities. Online court services offered in a language persons belonging to national minorities understand, and preferably in their language, provide another option to facilitate access to justice for minority communities that have sufficient access to information technology. 31 32 See UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2015) General recommendation on women’s access to justice, paragraph 37(a). Some of the principles for the provision of legal aid are included in UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2015) General recommendation on women’s access to justice, paragraph 37(b). 22 The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities