| By: |
Nathalie Chappe (CRESE, Université de Franche-comté);
Marie Obidzinski (CRESE, Université de Franche-comté) |
| Abstract: |
The recent reforms of the "judicial map" in Europe have drastically reduced
the number of courts, raising fears of a decline in access to justice. This
paper addresses this issue through a litigation model within a Salop (1979)
model. We assume that victims of accidents differ both in terms of
compensatory damages expected and in terms of distance from court. Due to
distance costs, it might be too expensive to file cases for some victims with
low expected awards. Therefore, the demand for trials is reduced by a decrease
in the number of courts when the probability of an accident is exogenous.
However, the link between the number of courts and the demand for trials is
not clear cut when the probability of an accident occurring is determined by
the defendant through his level of care. Furthermore, we determine the optimal
number of courts. |
| Keywords: |
litigation, number of courts, distance costs, access to justice |
| JEL: |
K41 H40 |
| Date: |
2013–01 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crb:wpaper:2013-01&r=law |