Access to justice means any judicial process through which an expeditious and comprehensive resolution to a legal conflict of an environmental nature is sought [Colombia: from national jurisdictional bodies] [Chile: from national jurisdictional and administrative bodies], under equal conditions of the parties [Paraguay: to the litigation] [Chile: to the proceedings], with a view to obtaining an individually and socially fair outcome. [Argentina] [Uruguay, Colombia, Chile: under equal conditions of the parties, with a view to obtaining an individual and socially fair outcome]
Access to justice means the removal of barriers, inter alia, legal, social, and financial, to allow persons to seek redress on environmental matters through any [formal or informal] institution of justice, while affording equal treatment for all parties. [Saint Lucia]
Access to justice means any judicial process through which an expeditious and comprehensive resolution to a legal conflict of an environmental nature is sought, under equal conditions of the Parties, with a view to obtaining an individual and socially fair outcome.45
Examples of Access to justice in a sentence
Access to justice in the European judicial area must be made easier, particularly in cross-border proceedings.
Access to justice in environmental matters: Individuals and environmental non-governmental organizations may seek reviews of decisions made that may affect the environment.
Access to justice in case of abuses that are the outcome (or the side-effect) of the economic freedoms has to be a fundamental right that makes victims eligible all over Europe, not only in the sometimes obscure country of establishment of his/her undertaking.
Access to justice features in a number of Kenyan legislative provisions and is particularly prevalent throughout the Constitution, most notably, Article 22(1) and Article 48.
Access to justice, however, is also a complex phenomenon consisting of different aspects and meanings.
More Definitions of Access to justice
Access to justice in its general term, means the individual’s access to court or a guarantee of legal representation. It has many fundamental elements such as identification and recognition of grievance, awareness and legal advice or assistance, accessibility to court or claim for relief, adjudication of grievance, enforcement of relief, of course this may be the ultimate goal of a litigant
Access to justice means states shall take all necessary measures to guarantee that every individual can appeal to an effective redress mechanism of an administrative or judicial nature, including the possibility of holding third parties accountable “and the determination of their criminal, civil, or administrative responsibility.” 205 Measures could take numerous forms, including removing any social, economic, or regulatory obstacle hindering access to redress mechanisms for vulnerable populations.206 This right is broad in nature; thus, it involves not only physical access to such mechanisms but also fairness throughout the proceedings, the capability of the institution to afford redress, and a prompt and opportune resolution.
Access to justice. INL supports the rights of Afghan citizens to access the justice system through a program to open defense lawyer offices in most provinces in Afghanistan, and educate Afghan citizens about their legal rights through grant programs while developing linkages between the informal and formal sectors.
Access to justice as per its narrow meaning means improving an individual’s access to court or guaranteeing them legal representation.1 However, the modern interpretation and the United Nations Practitioner’s Guide defines it as an individual's ability to seek remedy for their grievances through formal or informal institutions of justice in compliance with human rights standards.2 This approach focuses on the inadequacies and limitations of the legal justice system and calls for reforms by simplifying procedural and formal requirements as well as improving awareness and knowledge of the people. It further maintains that true access to justice must consider social variables which have been negated
Access to justice in simplistic terms, means to provide an effective mechanism to the aggrieved person for enforcement of her rights. This relationship between justice and rights has its foundation on the principle of equality. It is well articulated by legal philosophers like John Rawls1 and Ronald Dworkin.2 Societies across the world discuss about denial of justice. Access to justice and rule of law became part of United Nations (UN) deliberations while dealing with transitional societies like Iraq.
Access to justice means not only access to the police and courts but also to any other justice process: “the right to access all judicial, administrative, or other public processes that are available under the domestic law of a particular country, as well as under international law.”9
Access to justice means many things to many people. It is an ideal. It is not a single idea – in fact it is a hybrid of component parts which in combination equate to what we generally think of as “access to justice.” A few of the component parts have been previously identified as, access to lawyers, access to courts, litigation processes which produce just outcomes and just laws. This paper will explore what Access to Justice actually means in Queensland in 2015. Who is accessing justice, when and how? Why access to lawyers is a vital component of ‘access to justice’ that ought not to be diluted further. Barriers to an individual’s access to lawyers will be explored. Litigation funding, speculative costs agreements and legal aid resourcing will be briefly explored. Probono work will also be discussed.