Features of the Rule of Law - People should be able to go to the court to have their civil rights and claims determined

MEANS MUST BE PROVIDED FOR RESOLVING, WITHOUT PROHIBITIVE COST OR INORDINATE DELAY, BONA FIDE CIVIL DISPUTES WHICH THE PARTIES THEMSELVES ARE UNABLE TO RESOLVE

People should be able to go to the court to have their civil rights and claims determined. In fact, it is not in the interest of those involved in the dispute or of society as a whole that victory should go to the stronger.

Instead of going to a court, it is also possible to resort to ➔additional” means of resolving disputes:
conciliation: it is made by an independent conciliator who tries to reach a mutually acceptable compromise. It is useful because people are likely to respect more a settlement that is agreed than one that has been imposed;
arbitration: an independent arbitrator rules on the dispute on the basis of the terms of reference given by the parties. Arbitration can only be done by agreement.

However, there are cases in which the parties need to resort to a court. In this case, the ROL requires that there should be access to a court. But there are two main OBSTACLES:
expense: the cost of the trial cannot be afforded by all people;
delay: ➔justice delayed is justice denied” (Gladstone); in addition, the problem of delay can increase that of expense, since the longer a case drags on the more it costs (this is a problem particularly evident in Italy).