Role-play of Law in Justice

Author – Anjali Jain, Student at Government Law College, Ajmer

Best Citation – Anjali Jain, Role-play of Law in Justice, ILE Journal of Equity and Justice, 1 (1) of 2023, Pg. 127-121, ISBN – 978-81-961791-3-7.

Abstract

The Idea of law and Justice has always been misinterpreted and confused by the people. From Plato’s time, legal and political philosophers have debated whether justice is a component of the law or merely a moral assessment of the law. When we use the term “unjust law,” this is an illustration of the latter. Almost all authors on the topic have come to the conclusion that justice is only a judgment of the situation. Hence, the law and justice is one thing for the common people. But is this notion correct, are both these terms similar and identical? Can one be used in place of another? Do they have any relation? To answer these questions we need to first interpret these terms. The law is a set of rules and regulations that govern behavior and relationships between individuals and organizations. It plays a crucial role in maintaining social order and ensuring that individuals are held accountable for their actions. Justice, on the other hand, refers to the fairness and impartiality. It means that everyone gets what he or she deserves. If we do the logical deduction of the above definitions, we can presume that fair and impartial law will ensure Justice. I wish we lived in utopian world, and this statement to be true. But the reality is different, in the words of present Chief Justice of India DY Charachud, “What is legal (law), may not be just and what is just, may not be legal (law)”. Hence, law does not always ensure justice. This contradicts are above hypothesis. Then, what is the relation between law and justice are they either similar or polar apart. To understand this we will take the forward the positive hypothesis that we deduce above and try to understand the role of law in ensuring Justice.

Keywords:  Law, Justice, Injustice, Just, common law