CRITICAL STUDY OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE

“Access to justice” means having recourse to an affordable, quick and satisfactory settlement of disputes from a credible forum. This paper is an attempt to critically analyze the concept of access to justice. The revolution brought in the concept of access to justice since ancient India is also briefly discussed in this paper. For reaching the end of access to justice, the law must answer the bands of power laid down by Julius Stone. Various spectrums under the bands of power are discussed here. The main focus of this paper is about the ways to improve access to justice in India, for example legal aid, lok adalats, arbitration and conciliation etc. Cost of litigation, delays in civil system, arrears of cases are gaps which need to be fulfilled for dispensation of justice. Any model of access to justice has to address the issue of parity of power. Perfect equality may be impossible but still attempts can be made to build a system of access to justice based on parity of power.