Law and Justice

learn about Law and Justice

There is a popular saying that “Ignorance of Law is no excuse”. ( IGNORANTIA JURIS HAUD
EXCUSAT) It is essential that all of us should have an idea about law. One reason for the occurrence of most conflicts and disputes in society today is that people do not have a proper idea about law. The main objective of this chapter is to provide you with an idea about the main aspects of law and justice, which you should be aware of, and which lead to minimize conflicts and disputes. In general terms Law can be considered as a system of rules which controls the external behaviour of people in society. It can also be defined as orders given for the people by the person wielding sovereign authority. Legal experts have presented various definitions about law. Some of them are indicated below.
• Laws are a system of basic principles recognized and implemented both by the people and
   by the  authorities (Bount)
• It is a collection of rights and duties implemented by the State. (Green)
• It is a system of regulations enacted and implemented by the State for the administration of
   justice. (Salmand)
• It is a collection of rules enacted and implemented by an institution that had obtained authority for
   that  purpose (Oxford Encyclopedia)
If the law of a country operates properly that society is law-abiding. When law is combined with man, it is empowered. An accepted rule, convention or any other similar draft is passed by the Legislature after deliberation there, and after it is ratified by the Speaker, it becomes an accepted law of the country. In a democratic country the governed (common people of the country) as well as the rulers are equally
subjected to the Laws so formed.Justice means ‘acting impartially’. There are two main components of justice. They are,
i.Truth
ii.Morality
It is further elucidated by the following statement on justice presented by Barker.
The accumulation of political theories is justice. Justice that prevails in society should be simple and impartial. When this occurs even an ordinary citizen can claim justice - Barker
 Law should function as the subsidiary of justice. It eradicates evil and creates impartiality. The main objective of Law is dispensation of justice. When Law does not operate in a country, there ensues arbitrary rule or autocracy in that country. There are several pre-conditions for the establishment of justice:

1. The Right to know about the allegations [charges] against a person.
2. The Right to prove oneself.
3. The Right of a person to appear before courts of law on his/her own behalf or to be represented
    by a Lawyer.
 It is clear that Law and Justice are two concepts different from each other. Justice is
necessary to promote social stability and when a conflict occurs between two
individuals to resolve it fairly and impartially. Table 1.1 shows how Law and Justice
differ from each other.