By Ayan Mondal
Introduction
We all are the part of society. Peace Law and order are maintained in the society by the state. Justices is the soul of every judicial system. Justices is established in the society by the law , So administration of justices is the essential subject matter of the law .The administration of justices is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. Jeremy Taylor has well remarked –“A herd of wolves is quieter and more at one then so many man unless they all had one reason in them of have one power over them “ the main function of state are to protect the rights of all person and to maintain the law and order in the society.
The concepts of law and justice are often confused and misinterpreted by many. While the two are strictly connected, they are not the same thing. Justice is a broad concept that is based on equality of rights, fairness and morality. Conversely, law is a body of regulations and standards set up by governments and international bodies and is (or should be) based on the idea of justice. Laws are written norms that regulate the actions of the citizens and of the government itself in all aspects, whereas justice is a principle that may or may not be universally recognized.
The terms “law” and “justice” refer to two similar yet different concepts. The ideas of law and justice often go hand-in-hand but refer to two different ideas. Law is a system of regulations, standards, principles and norms created by a country’s government in order to regulate the life and the actions of the citizens. Laws are found in written codes and are enforced by the government and its bodies, including security forces, police, judiciary, etc. Conversely, justice is a more abstract concept based on the idea of equality of rights, and fairness. All laws should be based on the idea of justice and should be implemented and enforced in a just way without discrimination of sex, gender, age, colour, race, religion, language or any other status.
What is Law?
Laws are rules and guidelines established and enforced by the government and its entities. They vary from country to country and there is a body of international laws that applied to all states that decide to ratify certain treaties or conventions. National laws are principles and norms that regulate the behaviour of all citizens and of all individuals under the government’s jurisdiction. Laws are created by the government thorough a long and complex process, and once established they are implemented by governmental entities and interpreted by lawyers and judges. Laws establish what citizens, business, and governmental agencies can or cannot do. Although there is a set of written legislations, the judiciary system has the power to interpret them and to enforce them in all different situations. Laws vary from one country to another and that is the reason why lawyers can only operate in the country where they passed the national exam.
It has always been recognized that the purpose of the law is to ensure the effective administration of justice. Several jurists have opined that a legal system may be tested on the basis of how effectively it has administered ‘justice’ as defined by its laws. In fact, jurists like Salmond and Roscoe Pound have defined law in terms of justice.
According to Salmond, “Law may be defined as the body of principles recognized and applied by the State in administration of justice.” Roscoe Pound states, “Law is the body of principles recognized or enforced by public and regular tribunals in the administration of justice.”
What is Justice?
Salmond said that the Administration of Justice implies maintenance of rights within a political community by means of the physical force of the state. However orderly society may be, the element of force is always present and operative. It becomes latent but it still exists. Roscoe Pound– He believed that it is the court who has to administer justice in a state.
Justice is a broad and somehow abstract concept based on equality of rights, fairness, kindness, dignity, moral and ethics. In a just world, we would not have:
- Discrimination;
- Violence;
- Abuses;
- Poverty;
- Slavery; and
- Injustices in general.
Therefore, all laws should be based on the idea of justice and all governments should enforce national laws in a just and equal way. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and laws are often broken, non-respected and/or enforced in biased and partial ways. Furthermore, justice supersedes national legislation and applies to all individuals without discriminations or limitations.
Being one of the central points of study in jurisprudence, several jurists and thinkers have come up with their own ideas of justice. According to Friedmann, the ideals of justice are formulated by all those thinkers who reject the natural philosophy. Kelsen has attempted to reduce the various theories of justice into two types- rationalistic and meta-physical. Rationalistic theories define ‘justice’ scientifically or quasi-scientifically. The definition provided by the meta-physical theories, on the other hand, can be said to be pseudo-scientific. Aristotle’s views on justice may be said to be rationalistic whereas those of Plato may be said to be metaphysical. Different kinds of justice may be briefly summarized as follows:
Natural Justice- Natural justice implies to the ends of natural law. The purpose of natural law is to ensure that the natural rights, inherent in all individuals, remain protected. When the said purpose is achieved, it can be said that there is natural justice in society. According to Sarkaria, J., “Rules of natural justice are not embodied rules. Being a means to an end and not an end in themselves, it is not possible to make an exhaustive catalogue of such rules.”
Economic Justice- Economic justice refers to the effective realization of the economic rights of an individual. It is argued that, in order to effectively administer all the other kinds of justice, economic justice has to be necessarily ensured.
Political Justice- In a State where all the individuals have an equal right to participate in the nation’s political process, political justice can be said to prevail.
Social Justice- With the emergence and growing popularity of the idea of the welfare state, the idea of social justice has occupied a central position amongst the various kinds of justice. In order to ensure social justice, a State must ensure that an individual, as a member of any social group, is not subjected to any kind of discrimination or unfair treatment.
Legal Justice- Legal Justice refers to the ideal of justice that a legal system seeks to achieve through the enactment of various laws and legal rules. Justice must be backed by law. When Justice is administered within the boundaries set by law, the kind of justice administered is known as legal justice. This kind of justice is administered by the courts of law. It is also known as ‘Justice according to Law’.
Justice according to Law
In contemporary times, what is being administered by the State through its judicial system is not ‘justice’ but ‘justice according to law’. The doctrine of separation of powers mandates the judiciary to ‘administer’ the law of the land. If any legislation is found to be defective, it cannot assume legislative functions. At most, it can issue guidelines to aid the legislature. For instance, a murderer may have willfully confessed his crime in front of a police officer but may not have been able to do so before a magistrate. In such a situation, even though convicting him on the basis of the confession may have ensured justice, it shall not be recognized by the court for it is against the ‘law of the land’.
Thus, justice ‘according to law’ shall be ensured by the Court. It is the duty of the people to demand change in the law from the legislators. However, so long as the statute remains unaltered, the courts have to act according to it. Law is blind and, as a result, justice may also become blind.
Similarities between Law and Justice
The concepts of law and justice are fairly similar as most laws are thought to be just and fair. Some of the main similarities between the two include:
- Both concepts regulate human behavior and aim at creating a more just and equal environment;
- Law should be based on the idea of justice and should be implemented and interpreted in a just manner – without discriminations; and
- Both are based on the ideas of morality, equality, order and fairness.
Difference between Law and Justice
Although the two concepts are strictly linked, there are key differences that cannot be overlooked:
1. The term law refers to an existing and concrete set of written regulations established by the government in order to regulate and control the actions of the citizens. Conversely, justice is not a universally recognised concept and is subject to interpretations. Justice is often depicted a woman wearing a blindfold– representing equality and fairness, and applying laws and regulations to all individuals without discrimination. Yet, there is no common understanding of justice and there is no unique book or text to refer to; and
2. Laws can vary from country to country and the process with which they are created can change as well. For instance, in democratic countries, laws are adopted following a long debate and an even longer process of checks and balances; conversely, in authoritarian countries, laws are decided and established by the ruling party (or by the ruling person) without seeking the support of the majority. Conversely, the idea of justice is more or less consistent across all countries: moral values and ethics tend to supersede borders and geographic divisions.
Difference in terms of Implementation
Laws apply within one country and to all individual under the government’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, international law applies to all countries that ratify certain covenants or treaties. National laws are enforced by the government and its bodies (police, judiciary, etc.) while international law is enforced by international organizations and tribunals. On the other hand Justice is the underlying principle upon which all laws should be based. Yet, there is no implementation of justice as such, but laws and norms can be implemented and enforced in a just and fair way by judges, governments, lawyers and international bodies.
Difference in terms of Creation
Laws are created by politicians through a long process of checks and balances and can be approved (or not) by the country’s population. The creation of a law follows a different process depending on the country, and can last few days or even months whereas Justice is not created; it is a broad concept that unites universal ethical and moral standards. Although it is not universally recognised, the idea of justice is based on values and principles that are intrinsic to the human nature.
Origin of Administration of Justice
It is the social nature of men that inspires him to live in a community. This social nature of men demands that he must reside in a society. However, living in a society leads to conflict of interests and gives rise to the need for Administration of Justice. This is considered to be the historical basis for the growth of administration of justice. Once the need for Administration of Justice was recognized, the State came into being. Initially, the so called State was not strong enough to regulate crime and impart punishment to the criminals. During that point of time, the law was one of Private Vengeance and Self-Help. In the next phase of the development of Administration of Justice, the State came into full-fledged existence. With the growth in the power of the state, the state began to act like a judge to assess liability and impose penalty on the individuals. The concept of Public Enquiry and Punishment became a reality. Thus, the modern Administration of Justice is a natural corollary to the growth in the power of the political state.
Advantages of Legal Justice
1. Uniformity and Certainty– Legal Justice made sure that there is no scope of arbitrary action and even the judges had to decide according to the declared law of the State. As law is certain, people could shape their conduct accordingly.
2. Legal Justice also made sure that the law is not for the convenience of a particular special class. Judges must act according to the law. It is through this that impartiality has been secured in the Administration of Justice. Sir Edward Coke said that the wisdom of law is wiser than any man’s wisdom and Justice represents wisdom of the community.
Disadvantages of Legal Justice
1. It is rigid. The rate of change in the society is always more rapid than the rate of change in the Legal Justice.
2. Legal Justice is full of technicalities and formalities.
3. Legal Justice is complex. Our society is complex too. Thus, to meet the needs of the society, we need complex laws.
Types of administration of justice
- Civil administration of justice
- Criminal administration of justice
Civil administration of justice
Adjudication of civil disputes by the civil courts is known as administration of civil justice.
Those offences which are dealt with by civil courts through civil proceeding are called civil offences. The rights enforced by civil proceeding are two kinds. They are either primary rights or sanctioning rights. A sectioning rights is that which arises out of the violation of another rights. All other are primary, they are the rights which have their source somewhere else then wrongs. A primary right generally arises out of conduct or jus in rem.
Criminal administration of justice
Adjudication of Criminal cases by the criminal court is known as administration of criminal justices, those offence which are dealt with by criminal court through criminal proceeding are called criminal offences Punishment is one of the chief purpose of administration of criminal justice .it may roughly be defined as the authoritative infliction of suffering for an offence. the notation of punishment involves three major elements. The first of these elements is that punishment is imposed by someone in authority over the person punished. the second element is that punishment involves the infliction of something unpleasant on the victim, whether consisting of positive physical pain or deprivation of something which the victim desires such as his liberty. Thirdly the most important notion of punishment entails the actual or supposed commission of an offence.
Conclusion
The relation between law and justice is quite intimate and complex. ‘Justice’ is a term which is capable of multiple interpretations and definitions. It is incapable of being confined within a definite scope. Thus, a legal system shall only administer ‘justice’ according to its own understanding of the term. In conclusion, it can be stated that ‘justice according to law’, and not ‘justice’, is the end goal of law.
The Column Of Curae 