IFES Practitioner Brief on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Elections mechanisms. 25 However, the fundamental right to an effective remedy, as enshrined in international law, requires recourse to an independent and impartial tribunal, meaning that, where fundamental rights are concerned, there needs to be the right of appeal to a court or tribunal from these ADR mechanisms. 26 Because the right of redress applies to any violation of political rights, the administrative and judicial adjudication system—election tribunals, courts, EMBs—should remain the primary avenue for receiving and adjudicating election disputes. This means that ADR should play a complementary role to EDR mechanisms to enhance the legitimacy, inclusiveness, and efficiency of the electoral dispute resolution process. ADR should not replace the formal EDR process and further specifies that “in the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing....” IFES’s 2011 Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections (GUARDE) laid out seven international standards applicable to electoral complaints and appeals processes. 27 These legal standards stem from widely recognized fundamental rights, such as the right to participate in government, the right to a fair and public hearing, and the right to an effective remedy and access to justice. 28 Most of these standards are relevant to informal justice mechanisms, as outlined in the graphic below. In addition, anti-discrimination treaties require these rights to be accessible to all in practice. ADR can provide a more inclusive and accessible mechanism, dispute helping resolution traditionally disadvantaged individuals claim their political rights. This overview of the seven standards shows that ADR mechanisms used during an United Nations SDG Hub. (n.d.). SDG 16 indicators. https://www.sdg16hub.org/landing-page/sdg-16-indicators. See Vickery, 2011, p. 16 onwards and footnote 26 for a discussion of the right of redress and citation of international standards. The right of appeal to an independent court or tribunal is protected by ICCPR Art 2(3)(b) and Art 14(1) and similar provisions in other treaties. See also UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) CCPR General Comment No. 13: Article 14 (Administration of justice), Equality before the courts and the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent court established by law (April 13, 1984); HRC CCPR General Comment No. 25: Article 25 (Participation in public affairs and the right to vote), The Right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service; UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.7, (July 12, 1996); HRC, General Comment No. 31 [80], The nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States Parties to the Covenant; UN Doc CCPR/C/21/Rev.1(HRC/Add.13 (May 26, 2004); HRC CCPR General comment No. 32, Article 14, Right to equality before courts and tribunals and to fair trial, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/32 (August 23, 2007). 27 International standards. (2011). In C. Vickery (Ed.), Guidelines for understanding, adjudicating, and resolving disputes in elections (GUARDE) (pp. 9-96). IFES. https://www.ifes.org/publications/guidelines-understanding-adjudicating-and-resolving-disputes-electionsguarde 28 Ibid. 25 26 17