Theoretical overview
Justice and morality are commonly used in law. Although they are all a part of the same system and have many common factors, it cannot be ignored that they imply different meanings in the legal term.
Morals as an end of the law and thus there is a relationship between law, justice and morality.
Most jurists say that the end of the law is to secure ‘justice’. Justice has more or less been defined in the terms of ‘morals’.
Thus the law is used to give an idea of both morals and justice.
What is law
- The law is legislation created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate.
- Law is a rule made by a government that states how people may and may not behave in society and in business, and that often orders particular punishments if they do not obey, or a system of such rules.
- It has been variously described as a science and the art of justice.
- Until now, there is no definition that is universally accepted. Jurists have tried to define it on the basis of ‘source’, ‘effect’, ‘purpose’, ‘nature’ and other factors.
- Law are the rules which are enforced by society. Violations may bring a loss of or reduction in freedom and possessions.
- Society is one of the major factors in explaining the law.
- The law tells people what they should and should not do.
- For example, the law tells people that they should not hurt people and that they will be punished if they do so.
- In the same way, even society tells us what to do, for example, respect elders.
- Law is a social science and in order to keep up with change in society it has to change because there can be no right definition of law due to ever changing society.
- To give the definition of law, various legal concepts should be analyzed such as sociology, political science, history, psychology, economics, with an element of logic and practicality to meet the ends of justice.
What is justice
- The term justice has been derived from the Latin word ‘Jungere’ which means to bind or tie together, thus in this way it can be stated as justice is the key element which ties the individuals in the society together and harmonizes a balance between them and enhances human relation.
- Justice means following norms (customs).
- Justice stands for just conduct, fairness, or exercise of authority in maintenance or right.
- Therefore, justice generally means the recognition, application and enforcement of laws by courts.
- Justice is ideally representing something that is just and right.
- It basically means being just, impartial, fair and right.
- What is just may depend on the context, but its requirement is essential to the idea of justice
- For example, the natural law school of jurisprudence believes that justice means the implementation of religious laws.
- On the other hand, modern jurisprudence says justice means the implementation of concepts like equality and liberty.
- However, in both these examples, justice means enforcement of what the law perceives to be right.
- Society demands that people should live in peace in the society.
- While in society we experience a conflict of interest and expect other people to behave rightly in the society.
- Salmond and Roscoe Pound made more emphasis on the importance of justice in their definition of law.
- For Salmond without justice, an orderly society is unimaginable.
Kinds of justice
Public Justice and Private Justice: –
- Public justice is basically that kind of justice which the state administers through its tribunals and courts. It explains the relationship between courts and citizens of a state. Courts usually enforce laws that states make under public justice.
- On the other hand, private justice regulates the legal relationship between individuals. It is limited to people enforcing concepts of justice amongst each other without approaching courts.
- For example, let’s imagine that A and B entered into a business transaction in which A paid money to B as promised. B, instead of selling goods to A for the money, refused to fulfill his obligation. If A and B decide to settle their dispute through means of arbitration or negotiation, it is private justice. However, if A approaches a court and sues B, we refer to that as public justice.
Civil Justice and Criminal Justice
- In terms of the subject matters of justice, we can categorize it as civil and criminal. Civil justice generally refers to private wrongs that affect specific people or entities.
- For example, breach of a contract between two parties will affect only one of them. Trespassing of property is another example. In order to get justice in case of civil wrong a person should approach civil courts.
- Criminal justice, on the other hand, affects society in general even if specific people are victims. For example, the murder affects specific victims only but the law treats it as a crime against society.
- Another feature of criminal justice is that it relates to laws made by a legislature. Only acts that are defined as crimes can be the subject matter of criminal justice.
Social Justice
- Social justice is another name for equal social rights. Social Justice aims to provide equal opportunities to every individual to develop his inherent qualities.
- In contemporary times a large number of scholars use prefer to describe the concept of Justice as Social Justice.
- Social Justice is taken to mean that all the people in a society are to be equal and there is be no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, creed, colour, sex or status.
Economic Justice
- Economic Justice is indeed closely related to social justice because economic system is always an integral part of the social system.
- Economic rights and opportunities available to an individual are always a part of the entire social system.
- Economic justice demands that all citizens should have adequate opportunities to earn their livelihood and get fair wages as can enable they to satisfy their basic needs and help them to develop further.
- The state should provide them economic security during illness, old age and in the event of a disability.
Political Justice
- Political justice means giving equal political rights and opportunities to all citizens to take part in the administration of the country.
- Citizens should have the right to vote without any discrimination on the basis of religion, colour, caste, creed, sex, birth or status.
- Every citizen should have an equal right to vote and to contest elections.
What is morality
- Tort Law started just from the morality of the society and has some moral values as its underpinnings.
- In its most basic terms, the source of tort law is to shield society from chaos and pandemonium by establishing a court in which one individual can bring a claim against another, without resorting to private revenge.
- The morals of society construes that no person should do anything wrong to anyone and if he has done anything wrong, then he must be punished, just to get the victim back to a decent position.
In ancient times, there was no difference between law, justice and morality.
Relationship between Law and Morality
Although there are many differences between law and morality, it should not be assumed that there is no similarity between law and morality. They have the same center but different circumferences. They are very closely related. It depends on the definition of law and whether they will incorporate morality or not. A different definition of law is given by different schools.
The relationship between Law and Moral can be studied from 3 viewpoints:
- Morality as the basis of law
- Morality as a positive law test
- Morality as the end of law
Morality as the Basis of Law:
Law and morals have a similar origin, but due to the course of development, they came apart. In earlier societies, there was no difference between law and morality. They had a common source and their approval was of the same nature.
Later, with the development of society and the formation of the state, it raised the rules that were necessary for the functioning of the state and enforced its own restrictions to enforce them. These rules are called ‘laws’.
The rules were for the ‘good’ of humanity, but the state could not ensure that their upbringing would remain as it was. These are called ‘morality’.
Thus it can be said that law and morality have the same origin, but there is divergence in their development. Many rules are common to both such as not killing a person, and not stealing.
Morality as a Positive Law Test: –
In early times it was argued that law should be consistent with morality. It was supported by the Greeks and Romans. Later the churches came to power and said that if the law does not conform to Christian law then it is invalid. When churches were removed from power, it was claimed that law and morality were different.
Law derives its authority from the state and not morality. In the 18th century ‘natural law’ theory was gaining popularity and had a moral foundation. It was re-considered that the law and the rules are the same. In the 19th century, Austin propounded his theory that morality had nothing to do with the law.
The law is the command of the sovereign supported by sanctions. In the 20th century, Kelsen stated that only legal norms are subject to jurisprudence. He excluded all other external things, including ethics, from the study of law.
Now it cannot be said that if the law does not conform to morality then it is not binding. However, waking up more or less is in line with morality.
Morality as the End of Law: –
Ethics is often considered the end of the law. Many jurists have defined the law on the basis of ‘Justice’ and thus there is a connection between law justice and morality.
Most of jurists said that the objective of the law is to secure justice. Justice is more or less defined as ‘morality’. Thus the law is used to consider both morality and justice.
Difference b/w law and morality
Law | Morality |
Law is a system of rules that are applied in a particular country or community as regulating the actions of its member and it can be enforced by the imposition of penalties. | Morality is a body of system of values and principles derived from the code of conduct. |
the law is deliberately changes by parliament or the court. | Morals can not be intentionally changed, rather it develops slowly |
Sanctions are invariably imposed for violations of legal obligations. | There is no official sanction for unethical behaviour, although society often creates its own form of censorship. |
Laws must be followed as necessary for proper functioning of society | There are good in itself that’s why people follow them. |
Points to remember
- Law is a rule made by a government that states how people may and may not behave in society and in business, and that often orders particular punishments if they do not obey, or a system of such rules.
- The term justice has been derived from the Latin word ‘Jungere’ which means to bind or tie together, thus in this way it can be stated as justice is the key element which ties the individuals in the society together and harmonizes a balance between them and enhances human relation.
- The morals of society construes that no person should do anything wrong to anyone and if he has done anything wrong, then he must be punished, just to get the victim back to a decent position.