2 United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems Bearing in mind also the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment,4 principle 11 of which states that a detained person shall have the right to defend himself or herself or to be assisted by counsel as prescribed by law, Bearing in mind further the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers,5 in particular principle 6 thereof, which states that any persons who do not have a lawyer shall, in all cases in which the interests of justice so require, be entitled to have a lawyer of experience and competence commensurate with the nature of the offence assigned to them in order to provide effective legal assistance, without payment by them if they lack sufficient means to pay for such services, Recalling the Bangkok Declaration on Synergies and Responses: Strategic Alliances in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,6 especially paragraph 18 thereof, in which Member States are called upon to take steps, in accordance with their domestic laws, to promote access to justice, to consider the provision of legal aid to those who need it and to enable the effective assertion of their rights in the criminal justice system, Recalling also the Salvador Declaration on Comprehensive Strategies for Global Challenges: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Systems and Their Development in a Changing World,7 especially paragraph 52 thereof, in which it is recommended that Member States endeavour to reduce pretrial detention, where appropriate, and promote increased access to justice and legal defence mechanisms, Recalling further the Economic and Social Council resolution 2007/24 of 26 July 2007 on international cooperation for the improvement of access to legal aid in criminal justice systems, particularly in Africa, Recognizing that legal aid is an essential element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law and that it is a foundation for the enjoyment of other rights, including the right to a fair trial, as a precondition to exercising such rights and an important 4 Resolution 43/173, annex. Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August–7 September 1990: report prepared by the Secretariat (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.91.IV.2), chap. I, sect. B.3, annex. 6 Resolution 60/177, annex. 7 Resolution 65/230, annex. 5