Quality of Justice: a changing concept

What do we mean by quality of justice (QoJ)? How has its meaning changed over time? What differentiates a quality justice from a poor one? The paper presents a review of the international literature, assuming the existence of three phases of the debate. In a first period, until the end of the '60s, the concept of QoJ was used in a vague manner, especially by the legal practitioners. In a second period, in the '70s and '80s, the affirmation of the branch of studies on the administration of justice has gradually revealed two meanings of this notion: quality of the "product" – namely the judges' decisions – and quality of the "service". Finally, in a third period, starting from the early '90s, a result-oriented conception of the QoJ has begun to take shape. This article explores the emergence of new ways of designing and governing the judicial systems and the courts.