Does the granted access to the court automatically guarantee the citizen the access to justice?

Abstract

The authors examine the content of the terms access to the court and access to justice. These terms can be considered identical in a system based on the material rule of law (material legal state), that respects its principles. Social reality, sometimes, however, proves the opposite. The successfulness of ensuring (guaranteeing) the access to justice is determined, first and foremost, by the quality of the personal substrate of the judicial authorities – mainly judges themselves. The authors identify which personal characteristics are crucial in this regard. These include the judge´s level of professionalism (due professional care), moral integrity and communication competence. In order to consider the judicial decision-making process as the process (procedure) leading to justice, all of these requirements must be met at the same time.