access to justice
Courts for all
Access to justice is the ability of individuals to seek and obtain legal remedies through the court system or other institutions.
The phrase typically appears in discussions of barriers—cost, complexity, geographic distance—that prevent ordinary people from enforcing their rights: Legal aid programs exist to improve access to justice for low-income families.
A functioning democracy requires meaningful access to justice for all citizens, not just those who can afford attorneys.
- rule of lawSupremacy of established laws
- due processGuaranteed judicial fairness
- day in courtChance to present one's case
- legal aidFree attorney services
- courtsJudicial bodies or playing areas
equality before the law · language barriers · legal clinics · indigent · systemic bias · legal representation · legal fees · digital divide · pro bono services · public defenders · tribunals · small claims · means test · sliding scale · public interest groups · human rights · constitutional rights · judicial independence
- litigationpleadings, lawsuit, plaintiff, complaint, lawsuits
- judicial reformjudicial reform, court reform, legal reform, judicial independence, judicial appointments
- law and societysocial control, legal institutions, legal systems, social order, rule of law
- legal aidpro bono, legal aid attorney, legal aid, legal aid office, legal clinics
- bar associationsbar associations, bar association, law society, CBA, ABA
- civil rightsequal protection, equal rights, Civil Rights Act, right to life, Voting Rights Act
access to justiceimpunity
Freedom from consequences
injustice · lawlessness · vigilante justice · mob rule · legal limbo