By 2030, more than half of the world’s extreme poor will live in countries characterized by fragil￾ity, conflict, and violence. In fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), justice systems face numerous challenges that hinder their effectiveness and prevent reconstruction and adequate service delivery, including lack of independence, heightened corruption, improper government influence, and systemic institutional and administrative problems. Strengthening the delivery of justice and improving people’s capacity to access justice ensures the rule of law is equally en￾forced, thereby promoting social and economic development. Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law, yet one that is difficult to define. This report adopts a comprehensive definition that acknowledges the fact that justice can be deliv￾ered by a variety of actors. These actors include non-judicial institutions such as customary law, community arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms that do not involve the judiciary. This broader definition of access to justice encompasses three dimensions: legal framework, efficiency, and fairness. A society with a high level of access to justice enables the majority of its citizens to know their rights, providing them with information on which steps to un￾dertake, and which competent people to meet to resolve a dispute or defend themselves against it (legal framework); face a procedural cost that is not prohibitive in terms of both monetary and time cost, with implications on the capacity of the actors (efficiency); and not face discrimination or unfairness of any kind during the process (fairness).