Denial of Justice

Discussion Question

Denial of Justice

In recent years, there have been a number of strong and sustained criticisms of the civil justice system in Australia.

“Justice delayed is justice denied”

In civil litigation, delay is linked to the perceptions of fairness and relevance of courts. The principal driving force for case management was the acceptance and recognition that there was too much delay in the civil justice system. Unacceptable delay is the time beyond that which is reasonably required for the fair and just determination of the case

Delay will impede the proper disposition of any case that does not come to trial promptly. The case takes longer to prepare and to try because the events are no longer fresh in the minds of those who will give evidence. Hence the case that has been delayed in coming to trial therefore takes a day longer to try than otherwise would be needed, keeps another case out of the list. Each delay in bring a case to trial simply prlong the access to justice to the litigants.

Reflected by the saying “Justice delayed is justice denied” the negative effects of delay can include:

-erosion and loss of evidence from the passage of time

-Stress and frustration for litigants, judges and court administrations

-Possible loss of legal remedies

-delay in settlement or judgement may lead parties to settle for inadequate compensation

-decreased confidence in the administration of justice

-loss of executive time and loss of business opportunity caused by uncertainty,

Access to Justice

Access to justice is the principle that all citizen should have open to them a reasonable avenue to pursue and enforce their rights. An accessible justice system implies dispute resolution processes that are widely available, explicable and affordable. When one speak of “access to justice”, they perceive it as a mean for addressing particular grievance, vindicating their rights and achieving their desired outcomes.

However, this is not...