Theory of Justice: Jurisprudence
What is Justice?
From my point of view, justice is nothing but being fair. Okay, what is justice
from a law point of view?-Being justified. But what is being justified? It is
the process of using laws to judge and punish crimes and criminals fairly.
What is a theory of justice?
John Rawls, a political philosopher and an American moral, wrote A Theory of
Justice in 1971. It tried to address the issue of societal distributive
fairness. Traditional philosophical arguments on what defines a fair institution
and the basis for social acts and policies were rejected by Rawls.
The utilitarian argument states that society should seek the greatest good for
the most significant number of people, which aligns with the tyranny of the
majority over the minority. According to John Rawls, justice is defined as
fairness, and social justice is the primary feature of social organizations.
Rawls is a moral and political philosopher from the United States who wrote A Theory of Justice in 1971, "Political Liberalism" in 1993, and
Justice as Fairness: A Restatement in 2002, among other works. He's been
dubbed the twentieth century's most influential ethical and political
philosopher. For his academic and political spaces contributions, then-US
President Bill Clinton awarded Rawls the National Humanities Medal in 1999.
ORIGINAL POSITION :
When he established the Principles of Justice theory, Rawls introduced the
Original Position as an artificial artifice. The invention established a
hypothetical circumstance in which population members can reach a contractual
agreement on resource distribution without one side seeming to be better off
than the other.
Behind a veil of ignorance, the thought experiment would
establish the desired condition of affairs among members of the population. The
veil was a situation where people were blinded to their traits, such as age,
race, sex, and economic level, typically leading to bias. Individuals might
align the principle of advantage.
The Two Justice Principles:
When divided by the veil of ignorance, John Rawls
proposed two principles of justice that self-interested and rational persons
might pick. The following are the guiding principles:
Equal Liberty Principle
The first concept of justice to emerge from the initial stance is the principle
of equal liberty. According to Rawls, it asserts that all citizens have an equal
right to essential freedoms, which include freedom of conscience, speech,
association, and democratic rights. According to Rawls, personal property is one
of the fundamental rights that individuals should enjoy and that the government
cannot violate or modify. However, he did not include an absolute right to
limitless personal property as part of the fundamental rights that individuals
should enjoy.
Principle of Equality:
According to the equality principle, economic concepts should be organized so
that they satisfy two conditions. The poorest members of society should be given
more advantages. Second, economic disparities should be structured such that no
person, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background, is barred from
holding any job or office. Rawls stated that everyone in society should be
afforded the same opportunities and chances as everyone else of equivalent
natural aptitude.
Types of Justice:
Social Justice:
The state is restricted from discriminating against citizens based on their
birth, caste, race, creed, sex, faith, title or position, or any combination of
these factors. Apartheid and untouchability are antithetical to the spirit of
social justice. The lack of favored social classes is a crucial feature of
social justice.
Several articles of the Indian Constitution are aimed at ensuring social,
economic, and political fairness. Untouchability has been declared illegal under
the law. Every citizen has the right to obtain any public venue, an institution
of religion, or place of amusement on an equal basis.
According to social democrats and modern liberal philosophers, social justice
endeavors to reconstruct the social order in line with moral ideals. Attempts to
correct social injustice must be made constantly. It also stands for a morally
good and justifiable system of societal reward and duty distribution free of
prejudice or injustice towards any individual or group of individuals.
Economic Justice
Economic Justice and Social Justice are interlinked since the economic system is
always a part of the social system. Individual economic rights and possibilities
are always a part of the larger social structure. Economic Justice requires that
all citizens have enough chances to make a living and get fair pay, allowing
them to meet their fundamental requirements and aiding their development.
The government should provide them with financial stability during illness, old
age, and incapacity.No individual, group, or class should be able to exploit
others or be exploited. The distribution of money and resources should be fair
and equitable among all individuals. Everybody must share the benefits of
wealth.
There are numerous different perspectives on what economic justice entails.
Liberals believe that open competition is fair and that private property is
valuable. Socialists want to take total control of society and the whole
financial system. They reject the ownership of personal property. Whatever
philosophy or approach is in place, one thing is sure: all citizens must have
access to fundamental essentials of existence.
Political Justice
Political Justice entails providing all citizens with equal political rights
and participating in the country's government. Citizens should vote without fear
of discrimination based on religion, color, caste, creed, sex, birthplace, or
social position. * Each person should have the same opportunity to vote and run
for office.
The drafting of just laws and then doing justice under the rules are two aspects
of legal justice. The rulers' will should not be forced on the ruling while
creating legislation. Public opinion and public needs should guide legislation.
Social values, morals, customs, and the concept of right and wrong must all be
kept in mind at all times.
The term legal justice refers to the rule of law, not the rule of any
individual. It conveys that all persons are equal before the law and that the
law applies equally to all. It ensures that the law protects everyone. The law
makes no distinction between the wealthy and the needy. The objective and proper
administration of justice by courts of law is a necessary component of legal
justice.
When social and economic disparities exist, political and equitable justice is
constantly denied. An oppressed and impoverished individual can practically not
engage in the political process or seek legal protection from the courts.
Constitution of India and theory of justice:
India's survival as a nation is contingent on how we, the people, carry out the
provisions of our Constitution. Because the law of the Constitution is not only
for those who governor for the intellectual and scholarly-but also for the
majority of the people, especially for the common man, for whose benefit and
safeguard the document of governance has been written and enacted, all citizens
should take a closer look at it and understand its broader features. The public
is impacted by the opinions and statements of the country's highest court
justices. Under a written constitution, the judiciary's power should never be
underestimated.
The Indian Constitution is based on the distributive justice idea. According to
distributive justice, "the method established by legislation must not only have
an appearance of attribution, but it must have meaning according to evolving
societal ideals and human fairness in actuality and practice." Based on social
needs and societal context, our Constitution offers Justice, i.e., Social
Justice, Legal Justice, and Economic justice.
Article 21 ensures that the state will not deprive anybody of their life or
personal liberty unless they follow the legal procedure. This article's proposed
process must be equitable, fair, and reasonable. The legal method must resemble
these attributes in appearance, but it must also have actuality and practice
according to evolving societal ideals and human fairness.
Is the concept of justice considered a valid topic of logical inquiry, deserving
of jurisprudential philosophers and social scientists' sustained attention?
According to Aristotle, distributive justice is that each community member
should be given an equal opportunity. Inherent potentials. In the distribution
of such material resources, all people should have equal consideration and
chances.
The Indian Constitution is founded on the idea of equality and is based on the
rule of law. A similar theory was articulated in Vishakha v. State of
Rajasthan, which stated that no adequate philosophy of justice could be
developed without finding a place for equality and freedom in the system of
societal structure. The Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment in the
workplace is illegal. The only way to free women from harassment and
exploitation is to empower them to develop and flourish in a comfortable
environment.
The concept of justice draws our attention to the fairness and reasonableness of
the norms, principles, and standards of the normative framework. Justice's goal
is to satisfy people's legitimate wants and claims while also encouraging
creative work and the level of social cohesiveness required to sustain a
civilized society. The mandate of a "reasonable opportunity to be heard"
includes the Principles of Natural Justice, a broader and more flexible notion
covering a variety of fair hearing standards. The courts can overturn
disciplinary procedures if there is a violation of natural justice principles,
such as bias or procedural flaws.
Case law:
Vishakha Vs. State of Rajasthan
Facts: Bhanwari Devi worked as a social worker run by the Rajasthan state
government to scourge child marriage. Bhanwari Devi did her most challenging to
prevent child marriage in one of Ramakant Gujjar's homes during the protest.
Despite significant opposition, the wedding was effective in its conclusion.
Ramakant and his five men gang-raped her in front of her husband in 1992. The
police department attempted to dissuade them from pursuing the case on various
grounds, but she filed a complaint against the accused.
They were, however, exposed to harsh treatment by female police attendants, to
the point that her lehenga was demanded from her to get proof, and she was left
with nothing except her husband's blood-stained dhoti. Their plea to spend a
night at the police station was also denied, adding to their anguish.
The trial court acquitted, but she never lost hope, and all-female social
workers rallied to her side, witnessing her resolve. Under the name 'Vishakha,'
they all filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court
was asked to draught rules for avoiding workplace sexual harassment.
Judgment
The court decided that if there is sexual harassment, gender equality and the
right to work with dignity are violated. Because these rights have achieved
widespread support, it is necessary to interpret international covenants and
accords to provide such standards.
Conclusion:
It is pointless to associate the Indian Constitution with a single justice
philosophy because it synthesizes all legal ideas. The Constitution is an ideal
that requires practical efforts in social, individual, legal, economic, and
overall growth.
When we talk about the Constitution, we often talk about justice because it is
essential not only for the attainment of development but also for the attainment
of peace, security, and the dignity of the individual; justice matters because
it gives a person an identity; the unlock space for openness to LGBT issues,
leading to a certain legitimacy to demand more positive rights such as
anti-discriminatory measures and socioeconomic benefits.
We should use an effective educational plan to equalize intellect across
different classes of society, as Ward's idea is under Article 15 of the
Constitution.
Justice is basically about treating individuals equally, and it then seeks to
explain that we need to use various distribution criteria in different
situations to do so. It encompasses several rights, including freedom of
expression and the right to vote, which define citizenship and the right to
material resources, which enable individuals to operate successfully as citizens
in the political sense.
"Justice is not a reality but rather an attitude toward the facts that must be
shown to justify our Constitution'.
Law Article in India
You May Like
Legal Question & Answers
Please Drop Your Comments