Access to Justice and Electoral Integrity According to CCPR’s General Comment 32, “the first sentence of article 14, paragraph 1 guarantees in general terms the right to equality before courts and tribunals. This guarantee not only applies to courts and tribunals addressed in the second sentence of this paragraph of article 14, but must also be respected whenever domestic law entrusts a judicial body with a judicial task.”19 Under the same logic, the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary establish that they “shall decide matters before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason.”20 Moreover, the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct states that “independence is a pre-requisite to the rule of law and a fundamental guarantee of a fair trial. A judge shall therefore uphold and exemplify judicial independence in both its individual and institutional aspects.”21 The absence of prejudice, undue influence (internal or external) or biased assessment of facts is a necessary condition in the adjudication of cases and must be reflected both in the process and in the final decision as they are fundamental to guarantee the acceptance of rulings. Access to justice and transparency The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary rightly points out the need for judicial and similar bodies to preserve the rule of law, and to do 14