United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems 25 64. States should ensure that professionals working for the national legal aid system possess qualifications and training appropriate for the services they provide. 65. Where there is a shortage of qualified lawyers, the provision of legal aid services may also include non‑lawyers or paralegals. At the same time, States should promote the growth of the legal profession and remove financial barriers to legal education. 66. States should also encourage wide access to the legal profession, including affirmative action measures to ensure access for women, minori‑ ties and economically disadvantaged groups. Guideline 14. Paralegals 67. States should, in accordance with their national law and where appro‑ priate, recognize the role played by paralegals or similar service providers in providing legal aid services where access to lawyers is limited. 68. For this purpose, States should, in consultation with civil society and justice agencies and professional associations, introduce measures: (a) To develop, where appropriate, a nationwide scheme of paralegal services with standardized training curricula and accreditation schemes, including appropriate screening and vetting; (b) To ensure that quality standards for paralegal services are set and that paralegals receive adequate training and operate under the supervision of qualified lawyers; (c) To ensure the availability of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to guarantee the quality of the services provided by paralegals; (d) To promote, in consultation with civil society and justice agencies, the development of a code of conduct that is binding for all paralegals working in the criminal justice system; (e) To specify the types of legal services that can be provided by paralegals and the types of services that must be provided exclusively by lawyers, unless such determination is within the competence of the courts or bar associations; (f) To ensure access for accredited paralegals who are assigned to provide legal aid to police stations and prisons, facilities of detention or pretrial detention centres, and so forth;