Due Process

A procedural safeguard principle requiring that before the state deprives an individual of life, liberty, or property it provide fair notice of the case against them, an opportunity to be heard before an impartial decision‑maker, and access to a reasoned decision and available remedies; applicable standards and specific guarantees depend on the right at stake and the juridical framework.

A constitutional and legal guarantee that governmental actions affecting an individual's life, liberty, or property will follow established, fair procedures—such as notice, an opportunity to be heard, an impartial decision-maker, and reasoned decision-making—so that state power is not exercised arbitrarily; scope varies by system and by whether the concern is procedural or substantive.