Justice Essay, Research Paper

Justice

What problems in achieving justice are highlighted in some of the statements?

Justice! Is everything we hear or see just? Can we believe that every judgement the jury of the court in every case that was heard just? No, we cannot say that everything we hear and see is just. Justice is not black and white. “Rigid justice is the greatest injustice” – quote Thomas Fuller. This quote shows us that justice should be flexible and not black and white and if it were rigid, then it would be an injustice. For example, a man was thrown in jail because he stole a loaf of beard. Yes, stealing is a crime, and yes he should be punished for it, but then again, maybe the man was starving to death and that he only stole, not because he wanted to, but because he needed to, just to survive.

For Set 1 Article 10:”Everyone in entitled to full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his/her rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him/her.” Although that is Just, but is this possible. Does everyone have equal rights? Article 11: “everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to the law in a public trial at which he/she has had all the guarantees necessary for his/her defence.” This is not always the case in every country. There are usually punishments without a fair trial. Sometimes, the victims are punished instead, for example, some cultures, men are more superior than women, and when a man abuses a woman or rapes her, that man is still right, and the woman will be punished for “seducing” the man. With this in mind, the statement “Everyone is entitled in full equality.” itself is false. Not everyone is giving equal rights. There will always be discrimination around. The statement in article 10 is something that is really hard to achieve. Not everyone is born equal although we are told that we are equal and should be treated equal. This is not the case. Some people are born poorer, richer, shorter, and taller. Everyone is different, and although we aim to give everyone equal rights, we can never achieve it.

“Justice is my being allowed to do whatever I like. Injustice is whatever prevents me doing so.” – quote Samuel Butler. This might seem just in some people’s eyes, but how can one say what is right or wrong. Just because one wants to do something, does not mean its right, even if at that time, it seemed the right thing to do. Most criminals think this way; the person who commits the crimes is always thinking in the opposite way of the judicial system. For example, a serial killer is killing everyone who mocks him and looks down on him. To the killer that was the right thing to do, this is because the killer thinks that the people committing the crimes are the people mocking him, although they are wrong. The killer thought that they are wrong, and I am allowed to kill them because they are mocking me, and whoever stops me is just causing and injustice and I will kill them as well, because “I am right”. But is that just? Can one person take another person’s life? No, it is not right. One person cannot make the law. It cannot be decided by one person what is right and wrong.

“Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning wound for wound, stripe for stripe” – Old testament, Holy Bible, “Injustice all around is justice.” – Persian proverb. These are examples of how justice is carried out before the judicial system was introduced. If you hurt someone, you will get hurt yourself. But is that just causing more trouble. What if the person did someone accidentally, without intention, should he/she still be punished like that? Life for life, eye for eye? Although it is true, that one should pay the consequences for what they’ve done, but does it have to be so clear-cut? Wouldn’t that cause more problems in society, if people go killing each other without thinking about what has happened and without a fair trial. Injustice all around is justice. Should that be allowed in society? For example, a killer was found innocent, although it was clear that he was the murder of two teenager girls. The community is socked, and they take matters in their own hands, and cold bloodedly killed the murder. Would that be seen as the right thing to do, even if he did murder two girls? To the people who killed him, it was the right thing to do, but doesn’t that cause more chaos? Justice may not serve the interests of all members of society, so they take things into their own hands.

In conclusion, Justice is not clear-cut as it may seem, it is flexible and justice is not always carried out the right way. There are problems within each justice system of different countries and/or cultures. The way one is judged varies, and not everyone is equal. People are judged by their colour, race, social status and what people think of them, and most of the time, its just false thoughts.

By: Frank Lee