241. In this regard, the Court considers that, in order to facilitate access to justice for vulnerable persons, the participation of other State institutions and bodies is essential so that they can assist in the judicial proceedings in order to ensure that the rights of such persons are protected and defended. To this end, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities contains a specific article regarding the scope of the right 384 to access to justice in which it is provided that : i) States Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their effective role as direct and indirect participants. 242. Moreover, the Court recalls that while procedural rights and their related guarantees apply to all persons, in the case of children the exercise of those rights requires, due to the special their special status as minors, that certain specific measures be adopted for them to 385 effectively enjoy those rights and guarantees. The types of specific measures are 386 determined by each State Party and may include direct or joint representation, as the case may be, of the minor in order to reinforce the guarantee of the principle of the best interests of the minor. Moreover, the Court considers that there may be cases in which, depending on the person’s level of disability, it is advisable for that individual to receive the counsel or intervention of a public official to ensure the effective protection of his or her rights. 243. In this regard, the Court notes that the Juvenile Defender was not notified by the judge of the civil proceeding while Sebastián Furlán was a minor or later on, when the expert reports revealed the extent of his disability; therefore, Sebastián Furlan was not given the opportunity, which is mandatory at the domestic level, to participate in the civil proceeding, to which he could have contributed thanks to the powers granted by law (supra para. 238). Bearing in mind the foregoing, in the specific circumstances of the present case, the Defender of Juveniles and Persons with Disabilities would have provided a mechanism to address Sebastián Furlan’s vulnerability, given the negative effects produced by the combination of his disability and his and his family’s very limited financial resources which, as mentioned previously, (supra para. 201), meant that his impoverished circumstances had a disproportionate impact on his condition as a person with disabilities. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the State violated the right to a fair trial as embodied in Article 8(1), in relation to Article 1(1) of the American Convention, to the detriment of Sebastián Claus Furlan. F) Right to personal integrity and access to justice for the family of Sebastián Furlan Arguments of the Commission and of the parties 244. The Commission alleged the violation of the right to personal integrity to the detriment of Sebastián Furlan and his immediate family members, “his father (Danilo Furlan), his mother (Susana Fernández), his brother (Claudio Erwin Furlan) and his sister (Sabina Eva Furlan)”. In this respect, the Commission argued that “the next-of-kin of victims of human rights can be considered victims as well” and argued that, in the instant case, “the delay in the process protracted the emotional distress of Sebastián’s father, mother, brother and sister, and therefore [...] their right to psychological and moral 384 385 386 Article 13 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02, para. 98. Mutatis mutandi, Case of Atala Riffo and Daughters v. Chile, para. 199. 77