-21relationship” between access to justice (through an effective, simple and prompt recourse) and the right to a fair trial (the guarantees of due process of law) within the framework of the rule of law in a democratic society.49 61. In the Reports I submitted to the competent organs of the Organization of American States (OAS) when President of the Inter-American Court, e.g., on April 19, 2002, and October 16, 2002, I emphasized my understanding as regards the broad scope of the right of access to justice at the international level; the right of access to justice lato sensu.50 This right is not reduced to formal access, stricto sensu, to the judicial instance (both domestic and international), but also includes the right to a fair trial and underlies interrelated provisions of the American Convention (such as Articles 25 and 8), in addition to permeating the domestic law of the States Parties.51 The right of access to justice, with its own juridical content, means, lato sensu, the right to obtain justice. In brief, it becomes the right that justice should be done. 62. One of the main components of this right is precisely direct access to a competent court, by means of an effective, prompt recourse, and the right to be heard promptly by this independent, impartial court, at both the national and international levels (Articles 25 and 8 of the American Convention). As I indicated in a recent publication, here we can visualize a true right to law; that is, the right to a national and international legal system that effectively safeguards the fundamental rights of the individual.52 XI. Epilogue: the right of access to justice as an imperative of jus cogens 63. In its above-mentioned Advisory Opinion OC-18/03 on the Juridical Status and Rights of Undocumented Migrants (of September 17, 2003), the Inter-American Court stated correctly that “the State must guarantee that access to justice is genuine and not merely formal” (para. 126), which, in my opinion, includes the said access by means of an effective recourse, and all the guarantees of due process of law up until the effective and final execution of judgment. The same Advisory Opinion OC-18/03 stated lucidly that the principle of equality and non-discrimination is today part of jus cogens (paras. 111-127). procès équitable au sens de la Convention Européenne des Droits de l'Homme (Proceedings of the Colloquium of March 22, 1996), Bruxelles, Bruylant, 1996, pp. 88-89. 49 . G. Cohen-Jonathan, "Conclusions générales des nouveaux développements du procès équitable au sens de la Convention Européenne des Droits de l'Homme", in ibid., p. 172. 50 . Cf. also A.A. Cançado Trindade, "El Derecho de Acceso a la Justicia Internacional y las Condiciones para Su Realización en el en el Sistema Interamericana para la Proteccion de los Derechos Humanos,” 37 Revista del Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (2003) pp. 53-83; A.A. Cançado Trindade, "Hacia la Consolidación de la Capacidad Jurídica Internacional de los Peticionarios en el Sistema Interamericana para la Proteccion de los Derechos Humanos," 37 Revista del Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (2003) pp. 13-52. 51 . In this regard, cf. E.A. Alkema, "Access to Justice under the ECHR and Judicial Policy - A Netherlands View," in Afmaelisrit pór Vilhjálmsson, Reykjavík, Bókaútgafa Orators, 2000, pp. 21-37. 52 . A.A. Cançado Trindade, Tratado de Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos, tome III, Porto Alegre/Brazil, S.A. Fabris Ed., 2002, cap. XX, p. 524, para. 187.