E/C.12/GC/24 1. Judicial remedies 51. Violations of Covenant rights will often be remedied by an individual claim against the State, whether on the basis of the Covenant itself or on the basis of domestic constitutional or legislative provisions that incorporate the guarantees of the Covenant. However, where the violation is directly attributable to a business entity, victims should be able to sue such an entity either directly on the basis of the Covenant in jurisdictions which consider that the Covenant imposes self-executing obligations on private actors, or on the basis of domestic legislation incorporating the Covenant in the national legal order. In this regard, civil remedies play an important role in ensuring access to justice for victims of violations of Covenant rights. 52. Effective access to justice for indigenous peoples may require States parties to recognize the customary laws, traditions and practices of indigenous peoples and customary ownership over their lands and natural resources in judicial proceedings. 102 States parties should also ensure the use of indigenous languages and/or interpreters in courts and the availability of legal services and information on remedies in indigenous languages, 103 as well as providing training to court officials on indigenous history, legal traditions and customs. 2. Non-judicial remedies 53. While they generally should not be seen as a substitute for judicial mechanisms (which often remain indispensable for effective protection against certain violations of Covenant rights), non-judicial remedies may contribute to providing effective remedy to victims whose Covenant rights have been violated by business actors and ensuring accountability for such violations. These alternative mechanisms should be adequately coordinated with available judicial mechanisms, both in relation to the sanction and to the compensation for victims. 54. States parties should make use of a wide range of administrative and quasi-judicial mechanisms, many of which already regulate and adjudicate aspects of business activity in many States parties, such as labour inspectorates and tribunals, consumer and environmental protection agencies and financial supervision authorities. States parties should explore options for extending the mandate of these bodies or creating new ones, with the capacity to receive and resolve complaints of alleged corporate abuse of certain Covenant rights, to investigate allegations, to impose sanctions and to provide for and enforce reparations for the victims. National human rights institutions should be encouraged to establish appropriate structures within their organizations in order to monitor States’ obligations with regard to business and human rights, and they could be empowered to receive claims from victims of corporate conduct. 55. State-based non-judicial mechanisms should provide effective protection for victims’ rights. Where such alternative non-judicial mechanisms are established, they should also possess a number of characteristics ensuring that they are credible and can contribute effectively to the prevention of and reparation for violations;104 their decisions should be enforceable, and such mechanisms should be accessible to all. 56. Non-judicial mechanisms for indigenous victims should be developed with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions. As with judicial remedies, States parties should address barriers to indigenous peoples accessing the mechanism, including language barriers.105 102 103 104 105 See A/68/279, para. 34; and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 31 (2005) on the prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system, para. 5 (e). A Business Reference Guide: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, p. 47; and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 31, para. 30. See Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, principle 31. See A/68/279, para. 36. 15