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B4. The desired characteristics of a civil justice system
| 25. | The literature also shows a broad consensus as to the desirable characteristics of a well-functioning legal system. Another list produced by The Lord Chancellor's Department in its Evaluation (Note 19) may be taken to include typical desiderata :- |
| * | The system should be just in the results it delivers. | |
| * | It should be fair and be seen to be so by :- | |
| * | ensuring that litigants have an equal opportunity, regardless of their resources, to assert or defend their legal rights; | ||
| * | providing every litigant with an adequate opportunity to state his own case and answer his opponent's; | ||
| * | treating like cases alike. |
| * | Procedures and cost should be proportionate to the nature of the issues involved. | |
| * | It should deal with cases with reasonable speed. | |
| * | It should be understandable to those who use it. | |
| * | It should be responsive to the needs of those who use it. | |
| * | It should provide as much certainty as the nature of particular cases allows. | |
| * | It should be effective, adequately resourced and organised. |
Note
| 19 | EF, §1.10, reproducing WIR, p 2, §3. See also WFR, p 2, §1. For a similar list produced by Hong Kong commentators, see W&B, Prof M Wilkinson & J Burton, p 326. <back> |
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