ABSTRACT

Laws and legal systems are effective tools in delivering justice, and they also promote the well-being of their people. A formal legal system consists of constitutional provisions and substantive and procedural laws to facilitate enforcement mechanisms. Legal systems can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, fair laws can dispense justice, and on the other, unfair laws lead to violations. Delivering justice includes a multitude of aspects, and one of the major problems is access to justice, which has affected the ability of the legal system and judicial procedures to respond to these injustices. The crisis of delays has, in fact, engulfed the Indian judicial process. Lack of proper scrutinization is the main problem. Evidence shows that good governmental initiatives do not reach their target populations. Corruption has become the prime reason why the processes slow down and the initiatives are not taken for the welfare of people. A range of reforms is required at the legal, judicial and institutional levels for dealing with these delays and ensuring access to justice. This chapter opens a discussion on the effects, issues and challenges on the delivery of justice and brings out the difficulties in the justice delivery system.