Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law in the absence of access to justice people are unable to have their voice heard exercise their rights challenge discrimination or hold . Other access to justice requirements the procedures in each of the three contexts referred to above are required to be fair equitable timely and not prohibitively expensive decisions must be given or recorded in writing and in the case court decisions made publicly accessible assistance mechanisms to remove or reduce financial and other barriers to access to justice are to be . The us department of justice established the office for access to justice atj in march 2010 to address the access to justice crisis in the criminal and civil justice system atjs mission is to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes that are fair and accessible to all irrespective of wealth and status. Access to justice is more than improving an individuals access to courts or guaranteeing legal representation 283 access to justice is defined as the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice for grievances 284 in compliance with human rights standards 285 there is no access to justice where citizens especially marginalized groups