A/HRC/42/37 It also states that the courts must apply customary law when applicable, subject to the Constitution and relevant domestic legislation (see A/74/149, para. 63). 59. In northern Europe, countries only recognize a single State justice system, but seek to accommodate indigenous cultures in judicial procedures where courts are based in areas of indigenous peoples.36 A cross-border Nordic Sami Convention has been elaborated and is currently being considered by the three Sami parliaments and the Governments of Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Convention requires States to show respect for the Sami conception of law, legal traditions and custom, consideration of Sami legal customs in the elaboration and application of legislation and seek harmonization of legislation and other regulations of significance for Sami activities across national borders (arts. 9 and 10). 60. In New Caledonia, the Nouméa Agreement (1998) recognized Kanak customary authority over civil matters such as marriage, adoption, inheritance and some land issues. While exercise of customary criminal justice is not permitted under French law, “customary assessors” can help judges to understand customary law and its role in settling disputes, and judges can consider the social context in criminal sentencing, including customary justice that has already been applied. 61. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have referred to the right of indigenous peoples to recognition of their systems and institutions.37 Treaty body jurisprudence on indigenous justice systems is however limited. Committees have mainly referred to such systems in calling on States to ensure that traditional and indigenous mechanisms are compliant with international human rights law or with the national constitution. A primary source of justice for indigenous peoples 62. Even where the ordinary justice system is the only process the State recognizes, in practice indigenous peoples still resort to customary justice mechanisms in the vast majority of instances. They are generally perceived as more accessible, culturally appropriate and often constitute the primary source of dispute resolution for indigenous communities.38 In some countries, around 90 per cent of all cases are directed to indigenous justice systems. In Timor-Leste, where the vast majority of disputes are settled in the customary justice system, a reliance on spiritual traditions of sacred practice has for many centuries regulated community relationships (A/HRC/42/37/Add.2, para. 27). 63. Indigenous justice mechanisms tend to be closer geographically, less costly and use languages understood by all in the communities they serve. The fact that the decision maker is someone familiar to the disputants may inspire trust, or at least be less intimidating than the formal setting of a State court. 64. Ordinary justice systems frequently offer extremely limited prospects for indigenous peoples to obtain redress for human rights violations and indeed often pose an increased risk of directly or indirectly discriminating against them in their rights to access to justice, to a fair trial and to physical integrity. Their rights to enjoy their own culture and use their own language are more likely to be fulfilled in justice processes that are in harmony with their social and cultural practices, which for many indigenous peoples continue to be regulated by their traditional and customary law. 65. Indigenous justice plays a crucial role in areas where State institutions are generally weak or absent. For example, the Special Rapporteur was informed by the Attorney- 36 37 38 12 See the contributions of Denmark, Finland and Norway to the present report and the text of the Nordic Saami Convention, available from www.sametinget.se/105173. See Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 31, para. 5 (e), and Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 11 (2009) on indigenous children and their rights under the Convention, para. 75. See Human Rights and Traditional Justice Systems in Africa (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.16.XIV.1), p. 17.