RELATIONSHIP OF LAW AND JUSTICE: JUSTICE AS A FUNCTION AND

PURPOSE OF LAW

Introduction

Law and justice are inter-related and interconnected concepts. More often, the concept of
justice is perceived from the lens of the administration of justice, where the state institutions
are responsible for guaranteeing justice. Justice is an important virtue of all social institutions
and significant part of law and justice system. Indeed, securing justice is the ultimate aim and
purpose of the law.

Justice is the soul of every judicial system. Justice 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.

Concept of 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 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. The purpose of the law is to
ensure the effective administration 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.”

Concept of Justice

The word 'justice' is derived from the Latin words 'justitia' (to bind, to tie together) and jus (a
bond or tie). Thus in the concept of justice, various ideals and values are adjusted or
coordinated. Justice is a broad and somehow abstract concept based on equality of rights,
fairness, kindness, dignity, moral and ethics.

Justice is a flexible concept that can be adapted to any notion of public welfare. In a general
sense, justice means duty-devotion or virtue. Justice is an essential part of any progressive
civilization.

The principle of justice is concerned with the allocation of property, honor and opportunity in
this world. This theory discusses the rules of this allocation, the rationality of various
approaches related to it and its relative merits and demerits. Therefore, different ideologies
are included in it. Principles of justice relate more to human interests, less to human
reasoning.
The concept of justice is a difficult task to understand, as it is a complex concept. The
meaning of justice is not limited only to law and legal processes, but in the modern era, the
notion of justice has become very widespread and its representation has started to be
expressed in various forms.

Theories 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.

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 wilfully 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:
1. Both concepts regulate human behavior and aim at creating a more just and equal
environment;
2. Law should be based on the idea of justice and should be implemented and interpreted
in a just manner – without discriminations; and
3. 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:

 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
 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.

Justice as function and purpose of Law

Justice is generally perceived to mean fairness and equity. The Aristotelian idea of justice
that helped build the foundation of most occidental theories of social justice means to give
each was is due as deserved by him/her. This did not mean equality for the person so
concerned but rather reward per merit or virtue .In the Indian context, Justice is broadly
depicted as ‘Dharma’. The concept of Dharma has attained prominence in the era of the Epic
Mahabharata and Dharma emphatically became synonymous with the idea of justice.

But the notion of justice is wider than this. Justice is a complex concept and mutually
coterminous with law. It is the goal of the law, the central value of the legal system. The
general purpose of the law is the realisation of justice. It is the standard for evaluating the
law. It is a single exclusive solution for what is just and unjust. St. Augustine once said,
“Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies”

According to Salmond, laws are the bodies of principles that tribunals recognize and apply
while administering justice. Even Roscoe Pound defines laws to mean principles that public
tribunals recognize and enforce Therefore, justice generally means the recognition,
application and enforcement of laws by courts. This is different from the understanding of
justice in the ancient period when it was given a religious and moralistic meaning.

Ameliorative function of justice: Access to Justice

Law is an instrument of social change and played leading light for positive progressive
change for ameliorating conditions of the poor, vulnerable, and the marginalised. Access to
justice is one such ameliorative function of catering to the unmet legal needs of citizens.
Access to justice is also a constitutional right, it is the perambulatory promise and duty of
‘putting the power of law in the hands of people.

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.