Access to justice for all: a reality or unfulfilled expectations?

While the constitutional imperatives related to access to justice, the legislative framework of Legal Aid SA (LASA), the regulations for the attorneys' profession and the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 suggest that citizens are adequately catered for in accessing justice, the lived reality for poor persons is that this is not substantively attained. The formal framework creates unfulfilled expectations. First year law students at a Law faculty were required to report on their observations in the lower courts and on an interview with a litigant or official at the court visited. The focus of the assignment was on access to justice: identifying barriers and making recommendations for enhancing access to justice. The observations of the novice law students in the courts speak to the experiences of indigent and middle-class persons seeking to access the courts in largely urban areas. Ethical clearance and informed consent of the participants was obtained in accordance with the requirements of the Ethics Research Committee of the Law faculty. What is evident is that the achievement of access to justice is impeded by a number of factors, including socio-economic inequalities, systemic inefficiencies caused by poor administration at the courts and an unmet demand for legal services. It will require the allocation of significant financial and human resources to overcome the obstacles preventing those who cannot afford the cost of private legal representation from effectively accessing the legal system. The aim of the paper is to review the position pertaining to access to justice in the various regulatory sources and then to consider the obstacles identified by the students related to 'law in practice' in the lower courts of South Africa. Finally, the paper proposes some recommendations to address the observed impediments to accessing justice by the poor.