sanction only after the election has been held and the person committing the infraction has obtained the improper benefits may also be an invitation to break the law. It is vital that the provisions that regulate the administrative procedures for imposing sanctions ensure adherence to the essential formalities of due process and respect, among other things, the right of the accused to a fair hearing. Box 4.3. The effectiveness of financial sanctions may differ depending on the context A provision for gender quotas was included in electoral law in France in the French ‘Parity Law’ of 2000. Under this provision, political parties that did not nominate a stated percentage of women would be fined by a reduction in the funding that their party received from the state. Some parties in France itself were not keen to comply, and regarded the fine as small: they did not nominate enough women, and they were fined. The same legislation applied in the overseas departments of France, including New Caledonia. The parties in New Caledonia, which is poorer than France, regarded exactly the same level of fines as high and as a deterrent, and ensured that they complied with the legislation. The election in New Caledonia produced a legislative body composed almost equally of women and men (in 2006, the level of women’s representation in New Caledonia’s Parliament is 44.4 per cent, while in France it is 18.9 per cent as of February 2010). What is proportionate and effective in one place is not necessarily so in another. 124. It is important that the imposition of an electoral sanction can be challenged before a judicial body that is either part of the judiciary or autonomous. This body conducts a review in order to ensure that there has been due process and respect for the rights of the person alleged to have committed the infraction, in line with the human right to justice and to an effective remedy before a pre-established impartial court. h) Other legal instruments 125. In addition to criminal or administrative liability for the violation of the provisions of the electoral law, there are other forms of liability and penalty which could be characterized as political. These include those liabilities imposed by the legislative organ, or any other political assembly, on high ranking public servants such as cabinet ministers, governors, legislators, judges or members of EMBs for having committed a serious irregularity in connection with a particular electoral process. This includes, for example, an impeachment procedure provided for in some countries with a common law tradition. Another example is what is known as juicio político (political trial) provided for in several Latin American countries, the consequence of which is the removal by the legislature of the high-ranking public official found liable 50