Accessibility as a Factor in Public Participation in the Judicial Process

Abstract. Abstract: Court accessibility, as an element of the rule of law, plays a significant role in ensuring citizens' right to a fair trial. In modern conditions, it is necessary to analyze the main barriers that may limit public participation in the judiciary. It is argued that removing such barriers can encourage more active recourse to the courts for the protection of legitimate rights and interests, as well as increase public involvement in the judicial process, both through direct participation in court proceedings and through public oversight mechanisms. The creation of proper preconditions for the administration of justice is of exceptional importance in the establishment and development of modern democracies. It is crucial to build a court system that is effective and accessible to everyone who, by their own will (plaintiff, media representative) or by legal requirement (defendant, witness, expert), becomes a participant in the judicial process. Access to justice is an important guarantee of the law's effectiveness within the state. It is a significant step toward ensuring the inevitability of legal responsibility and the restoration of justice. At the same time, it is one of the conditions for the establishment of civil society, where every citizen is aware of themselves as a subject of law, capable of using the state's legal protection in cases prescribed by law. The accessibility of justice is an essential attribute of a rule-of-law state. At the same time, ensuring free access to justice is a global issue, as it exists in many countries around the world. We define fair, impartial, and accessible justice as one of the fundamental conditions for the democratic development of the Ukrainian state on its path to European integration. In studying the phenomenon of justice accessibility, we assess specific threats and challenges faced by Ukraine and the world in recent years. In our work, we present our own vision of vectors for the terminological development of certain legal concepts that are related to the realization of the individual's right to judicial protection, as established in the Constitution of Ukraine. Keywords: judiciary; public participation; right to judicial protection; access to justice; participation in the judicial process; judicial reform; democracy; European integration.