The adversarial system is a game. It is a forum in which power and influence, and to a great extent, money, really shines. The game is won by those who can afford through networks and bank balances to have the best legal minds and the best for-hire experts bat for them. It’s simply bad luck for those who cannot for they do not ultimately get the kind of justice that promotes their best interest, or in fact, in too many cases, the kind of justice that represents justice per se. Sometimes, the majority who fall into the latter group, manage to see, during a long drawn-out process, a kind of justice. Nonetheless for far too many, the maxim is unfortunately one of justice delayed and denied.
One need only think of the Racial Discrimination Act. It is a wonderful piece of legislation, fabulous in its intent and truly declarative of the highest aspirations of a multicultural society. Those who are most in need of its protections such as an average salary earner with little to no family fortune or political connections to speak of will not be able to afford to prosecute the discriminatory acts to which they have been subjected and for which they have suffered real harms. At least 75% of complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission are either dismissed or declined. That’s a very solid number that lets people know not to lodge or pursue complaints. However, would that one were fortunate to have very deep pockets, it easy enough to take up your plaint to be adjudicated by the good and the great of the Federal Court. What does this mean for the average citizens of Australia, a nation as seemingly egalitarian as one can find on the global stage? In any event, justice must be seen to be done. It must be seen to be done for a select few, at least, for the maxim to hold and for the continuation of the illusion that access to justice is well, there, even if only for some.
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