Access to Justice and Electoral Integrity Principle 1 of the Istanbul Declaration on Transparency in the Judicial Process clearly states that “public access to court hearings is a fundamental requirement in a democratic society. The principle of public proceedings implies that citizens and media professionals should be allowed access to the court rooms in which judicial proceedings take place. The court should, therefore, ensure that the public and the media can attend court proceedings.”24 Even in cases in which the public is excluded from the trial, the judgment must, with certain strictly defined exceptions, be made public.25 Public proceedings and decisions contribute to the transparency and accountability of the process and to guarantee the uniform and equal application of the law.26 Therefore, access to justice must be also granted by opening the process to the public and, even more importantly, by explaining clearly how judges form their conclusions. It is therefore important that rulings and other documents are “drafted in an accessible, simple and clear language. [Also,] Judges shall issue reasoned decisions, pronounced in public within a reasonable time, based on fair and public hearing[, and] (…) use appropriate case management methods.”27 Accessibility The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) establishes in the General recommendation No. 33, that “The right to access to justice is multidimensional. It encompasses justiciability, 16