Justice delayed is justice denied

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"Justice delayed is justice denied" is a legal cliché meaning that if legal redress is available for a party that has suffered some injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same as having no redress at all. This principle is the basis for the right to a speedy trial and similar rights which are meant to expedite the legal system, because it is unfair for the injured party to have to sustain the injury with little hope for resolution. The phrase has become a rallying cry for legal reformers who view courts or governments as acting too slowly in resolving legal issues either because the existing system is too complex or overburdened, or because the issue or party in question lacks political favor.

[edit] Origin

There are conflicting accounts of who first coined the phrase. According to Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations, it is attributable to William Gladstone but such attribution was not verifiable.[1] Alternately, it may be attributable to William Penn, although not in its current form.[2]

The phrase may alternatively be traced to the Magna Carta, clause 40 of which reads, "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice."

[edit] See also

• "Out of sight, out of mind", i.e., purposely delaying justice by hoping all parties forget the matter
• Red tape, inefficiency which can delay legal resolutions
• Statute of limitations, which forces injured parties to bring timely claims