“Just in case”: Too much litigation?

Abstract

This Oñati Socio-Legal Series publication is the product of an Oñati workshop on Too much litigation, held June 2019. This is the third and final part of a trilogy of workshops held in Oñati; the first two parts dealt with the legal professionals: lawyers (Oñati workshop 2012, titled Too Many Lawyers?); and judges (Oñati workshop 2016, titled Too Few Judges?). In this final workshop, we focused on litigants and litigation – the “clients” of both judges and lawyers. The overall finding is that too much/not enough litigation might endanger access to justice. In a wider context, putting the three themes together creates a better understanding of the importance of access to justice and the role of the legal profession and the professionals in ensuring this basic right.