Justice for Sale: An analysis of how access to justice remains unattainable for the poor in South Africa

Abstract

This study will seek to examine what the concept of “access to justice” is, and an in-depth analysis will be conducted so as to establish how economic status affects the ability to access justice. The right to access to justice is not expressly contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, instead it can be said to be an amalgamation of several rights contained in the Constitution, namely sections 9 and 34: • Section 9 of the Constitution contains the right to equality, with section 9(1) stating that everyone is equal before the law, and has the right to equal benefit and protection of the law. • Section 34 of the Constitution contains the right to access to courts, and this section states that everyone has the right to have a dispute resolved by application of the law in a fair public hearing before a court, or where applicable, another independent and impartial tribunal. The above two sections make it clear that every single person in South Africa should enjoy the benefits and protections provided by the law (including the Constitution) equally, which means that every South African should be able to have their disputes resolved by application of the law before a Court or, where appropriate, another tribunal or forum, but realisation of these rights has proven to be difficult to say the least.