scholarly journals The Right of Access to Justice: Judicial Discourse in Singapore and Malaysia

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Gary K Y Chan

AbstractThis is an essay on judicial discourse in Singapore and Malaysia pertaining to the nature and scope of the right of access to justice, including access to justice for the poor. We will examine the statements and pronouncements by the Singapore and Malaysia judiciary in case precedents and extra-judicial statements. Some of the issues explored include the legal status of this right of access to justice (namely, whether it is a right enshrined in the constitution or merely a right derived from the common law and whether it is qualified by economic and other interests) and the associated rights of legal representation, legal aid and contingency fees.

Author(s):  
Thomas E. Webb

Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, Supreme Court. This case considers whether the fees applicants were required to pay to access the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeals Tribunal interfered with their ability to access justice. The UKSC articulated the right of access to justice as deriving from the common law. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Thomas Webb.


Author(s):  
Thomas E. Webb

Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, Supreme Court. This case considers whether the fees applicants were required to pay to access the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeals Tribunal interfered with their ability to access justice. The UKSC articulated the right of access to justice as deriving from the common law. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Thomas Webb.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72
Author(s):  
Hennie van As

Democracy and the adoption of a Bill of Rights for South Africa not only brought about political change, but it also created expectations of a better life for all. The Constitution guarantees equality before the law, access to a fair hearing and the right to legal representation in criminal matters, and the Legal Aid Board is one of the institutions tasked with giving effect to these pledges. In order to achieve its objectives and to fulfil its obligations, government embarked upon a process of transformation of existing structures and institutions and the creation of new ones. Although legal aid, and statutory provision therefore, are not new concepts in South Africa, constitutionalization resulted in the restructuring of the Legal Aid Board and changes in the method of delivery of its services. The focus is on rendering legal representation in criminal matters to the neglect of civil and non-legal problems that the poor often face, resulting in the impression that government is merely paying lip service to the promise of access to justice. This lends credence to the perception that the legal system exists in order to protect the interests of criminals. Being a developing country, it is comprehensible that priorities have to be set, but it is also true that optimum use should be made of existing structures and resources in order to deal with the needs for legal aid services as expressed by the recipients of those services. Involving students and local government are two methods that can be employed to address the multi-farious problems experienced by the less fortunate members of society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Julio Cesar Betancourt

Resumen: La noción de “Resolución Alternativa de Disputas”, generalmente conocida como “ADR”, ha recibido una importante acogida por parte de la literatura del common law y lo mismo puede decirse en cuanto sus principales categorías (negociación, mediación y arbitraje). ADR, lato sensu, se refiere a la idea de utilizar toda una gran variedad de mecanismos no jurisdiccionales destinados a pre­venir, manejar, resolver o solucionar conflictos intersubjetivos. De modo que la expresión resolución alternativa de disputas es, en cierta manera, insuficiente para suministrar una visión integral de todas las opciones (o alternativas) disponibles. Este artículo reexamina la noción de ADR y proporciona una novedosa visión del pasado, presente y futuro de esta relativamente nueva disciplina.Palabras clave: ADR, resolución alternativa de disputas, acceso a la justicia.Abstract: The notion of “Alternative Dispute Resolution”, commonly known as “ADR”, has re­ceived considerable attention in common law literature, and the same can be said about the main ADR categories (negotiation, mediation and arbitration). ADR, lato sensu, refers to the idea of utilising a wide variety of non-jurisdictional mechanisms that are intended to prevent, manage, resolve or settle disputes. Thus, the expression alternative dispute resolution is, somewhat, technically insufficient to account for the whole range of options (or alternatives) available. This article re-examines the notion of ADR and provides a novel insight into the past, present and future of this relatively new discipline.Keywords: ADR, alternative dispute resolution, access to justice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-406
Author(s):  
Riccardo Pavoni

With Judgment No. 238/2014, the Italian Constitutional Court (hereinafter Court) quashed the Italian legislation setting out the obligation to comply with the sections of the 2012 decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy; Greece intervening) (Jurisdictional Immunities or Germany v. Italy) that uphold the rule of sovereign immunity with respect to compensation claims in Italian courts based on grave breaches of human rights, including—in the first place—the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Court found the legislation to be incompatible with Articles 2 and 24 of the Italian Constitution, which secure the protection of inviolable human rights and the right of access to justice (operative paras. 1, 2).


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa

AbstractThe 1994 Malawian Constitution is unique in that it, among other things, recognizes administrative justice as a fundamental right and articulates the notion of constitutional supremacy. This right and the idea of constitutional supremacy have important implications for Malawi's administrative law, which was hitherto based on the common law inherited from Britain. This article highlights the difficulties that Malawian courts have faced in reconciling the right to administrative justice as protected under the new constitution with the common law. In doing so, it offers some insights into what the constitutionalization of administrative justice means for Malawian administrative law. It is argued that the constitution has altered the basis and grounds for judicial review so fundamentally that the Malawian legal system's marriage to the English common law can be regarded as having irretrievably broken down as far as administrative law is concerned.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 240-243
Author(s):  
P. Badzeliuk

This article is devoted to the study of the implementation of the fundamental right of a person to professional legal assistance through the vectors of influence of the bar, the role of the human rights institution in the mechanism of such a right and its place in public life.An effective justice system provides not only an independent and impartial judiciary, but also an independent legal profession. Lawyers play an important role in ensuring access to justice. They facilitate the interaction between individuals and legal entities and the judiciary by providing legal advice to their clients and presenting them to the courts. Without the assistance of a lawyer, the right to a fair trial and the right to an effective remedy would be irrevocably violated.Thus, the bar in the mechanism of protection of human and civil rights and freedoms is one of the means of self-limitation of state power through the creation and active functioning of an independent human rights institution, which is an active subject in the process of fundamental rights. The main constitutional function of the state is to implement and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and the constitutional and legal status of the legal profession allows it to actively ensure the rights of civil society as a whole and not just the individual. Effectively implement the human rights function of the state by ensuring proper interaction between the authorities and civil society, while being an active participant in the law enforcement mechanism and occupying an independent place in the justice system.Thus, the activities of lawyers are a complex manifestation of both state and public interest. After all, it is through advocacy and thanks to it that the rule of law realizes the possibility of ensuring the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Advocacy, on the one hand, has a constitutionally defined state character, and on the other hand, lawyers should be as independent as possible from the state in order to effectively protect citizens and legal entities from administrative arbitrariness. Thus, the bar is a unique legal phenomenon that performs a state (public-law) function, while remaining an independent, non-governmental self-governing institution.


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