What if access to our courts were free?

Associate Professor Chris Gallavin, Dean of the School of Law

The community may be forgiven in thinking that only the principled and/or the rich willingly go to court. For the rest, it may seem that access to the courts are either a grim reality or a necessary result of insufficient funds to hire scary enough lawyers. The consequence of this is the creation of a belief that justice is unobtainable unless one is wealthy.
In light of this growing reality is it really possible to structure society around free access to the courts? The answer is a resounding 'Yes'. With sufficient political will and a commitment by the legal profession to facilitate such access then free or affordable access to effective dispute resolution processes could be a reality.
Barriers to justice in New Zealand include; Money (or the lack of); A perceived power imbalance: the rich and powerful can keep appealing until you are bankrupt; a fee regime that ensures that even if you win, you lose; and finally a system of punitive costs orders (loser pays).
Whilst no one model of justice is available to resolve these issues, the development of a flexible and nuanced system could act to alleviate the harsh reality of having a problem with no effective place to have it resolved.