The concept of ‘access to justice’ has wide appeal despite meaning different things to different people. Although it has been defined in various, and sometimes inexplicable, ways depending on the context, the term access to justice conveys several consistent principles of importance to societies, the rule of law and justice systems. Under the rule of law, law stands above all people and all people are equal before it. In this way, access to justice is an aspiration. No person and no institution, including the state, should be above the law. But for all people to be equal before the law there must be equal access to the law. This requires people knowing their rights and entitlements, being aware of processes for remedy or redress, having the ability to access those processes, being able effectively to participate in those processes, and achieving an outcome that is just, in light of the merits of the case and by processes that are conspicuously fair and perceived to be so. Effective access to justice ensures that laws are more than hollow promises of protection for the vulnerable and powerless.