Access to Justice: The Quality of the Procedure

TISCO Working Paper Series on Civil Law and Conflict Resolution Systems No. 002/2008

44 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2008 Last revised: 2 Apr 2013

See all articles by Laura Klaming

Laura Klaming

Tilburg University - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT); Tilburg University - Private Law Department

Ivo Giesen

Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law; Utrecht University - School of Law

Date Written: February 1, 2008

Abstract

The quality of procedures is believed to play an important role in access to justice. It is assumed, that the quality of a procedure is high if people evaluate it as fair. Fair procedures are likely to improve access to justice. For the purpose of the present paper, the quality of procedures is determined in terms of people's perceptions of procedural justice. Pocedural justice refers to various aspects that a procedure should meet in order to be perceived as fair by its users. Research on procedural justice has a long tradition within the field of social psychology. It was therefore decided to focus on the theoretical and empirical framework of social psychology in order to define and evaluate the quality of procedures. Other frameworks, such as legal, philosophical and economic perspectives, are not discussed here. Various indicators of procedural justice as well as potential factors influencing people's evaluations of procedural justice have been identified in past research. Factors that were found to affect procedural justice perceptions include cultural aspects, features of the outcome, as well as characteristics of the dispute. In addition, recent research has indicated that people may also rely on emotional information when evaluating procedural justice. This aspect seems to be of particular importance in the legal context as conflicts are generally characterised by negative emotions which may then influence people's justice judgments. The present paper discusses the most relevant research findings and theories of procedural justice. In addition, the different conceptualisations of justice and their relevance for the purpose of evaluating the quality of procedures are discussed in more detail in order to determine which indicators of procedural justice are most relevant and should therefore be incorporated into a measurement method to assess the quality of procedures.

Keywords: Procedural justice, Interpersonal justice, Informational justice

Suggested Citation

Klaming, Laura and Giesen, Ivo, Access to Justice: The Quality of the Procedure (February 1, 2008). TISCO Working Paper Series on Civil Law and Conflict Resolution Systems No. 002/2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1091105 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1091105

Laura Klaming (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) ( email )

P.O.Box 90153
Prof. Cobbenhagenlaan 221
Tilburg, 5037
Netherlands

Tilburg University - Private Law Department ( email )

Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Ivo Giesen

Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law ( email )

Janskerkhof 12
Utrecht, 3512 BL
Netherlands
0031302536148 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.uu.nl/NL/FACULTEITEN/REBO/ORGANISATIE/DEPARTEMENTEN/DEPARTEMENTRECHTSGELEERDHEID/Pages/de

Utrecht University - School of Law ( email )

3508 TC Utrecht
Utrecht
Netherlands

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