Justice

Question 1

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Answer 1

The Oxford English Dictionary defines justice as ‘just conduct, fairness’. In law, this is often illustrated through treating like cases in the same manner, showing impartiality and acting in good faith. There are two types of justice: 1) Procedural justice – how laws are made/how the legal system operates must be fair – for example the work of juries, sentencing, legal aid. 2) Substantive justice – are the legal rules/laws fair? Do they create justice? – for example loss of control, murder, negligence.

Question 2

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Answer 2

Whilst there are 2 definitions of justice, there are also different theories of how a legal system is best able to achieve or create justice. For example Aristotle – said that just laws were any laws that would enable people to fulfil themselves in society. He created the ideas of Distributive Justice and Corrective Justice . Distributive Justice – the allocation of assets in society should be in proportion to a person’s claim on them. Corrective Justice – the existence of remedies means the wrongdoer does not benefit from his wrongdoing, and the victim doesn’t suffer permanent loss – for example, the existence of the appeal system to limit miscarriages of justice. Alternatively, Utilitarianism – under Bentham and JS Mill argues that a law is a just law if it benefits the majority of the people, even if this produces injustice for the minority as in the case of (Lord Denning & Kizsko)
3) Natural Law Theory – St Thomas Aquinas - as long as our laws follow the ‘higher law’ derived from God, then our laws will be just. Any law that does not follow ‘God’s higher law’ cannot be a just law​ i.e Human Rights Act.

Question 3

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Answer 3

The existence of Legal Aid means that all citizens, irrespective of their income, have access to legal advice and representation. However, funding for legal aid has been savagely cut since 2010 so it may not be as accessible as it seems.
Goes against the theories of distributive and corrective justice argued by Aristotle ​

Question 4

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Answer 4

Justice is not always served, for example murder could promote justice as murder committed without any defence receives a mandatory life sentence which is comparable to the act done by the murderer. However, all murderers are treated the same – cold blooded killers and mercy killers are both given a life sentence – is this truly just?

Question 5

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Answer 5

Ultimately, It is often difficult for a legal system to provide justice for everyone. Many laws turn out to be Utilitarian in nature – creating justice for the majority, but not for all individuals – for example, the anti-terrorism laws. Perhaps this is the most ‘just’ way.