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Law and Justice:An analogous odyssey

Law and Justice:An analogous odyssey

LAW AND JUSTICE 

What is justice?

Justice in a legal perspective has a myriad of definitions. From the Cambridge dictionary, justice can be defined as to the fairness in which people are dealt with. Different philosophers have defined the concept of justice. Plato, a philosopher from the 4th century BCE viewed justice more of a moral concept than a legal concept whereby he believed that justice was a virtue that formed as a link for all men in the society to live harmoniously. St. Thomas Aquinas a Roman Catholic church saint defined Justice as when a righteous person gives others their due in relative to their responsibilities in the society. Cephalus who was also a controversial philosopher during his day said that justice is speaking the truth and paying the debt one owes to others. Aristotle a Greek philosopher who found pupillage under Plato’s teachings also defined justice as what is fair and having legality whereas f defining fairness as the impartiality in distribution and faultlessness of what is unequal in nature. Justice through these philosophers perspective coalesce justice, law and morality. Justice has different views in different parts of the world irrespective of religion too. Justice from the Biblical/Christian perspective is that Justice will be served during the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the son of the omnipotent, omnipresent commander of the universe Yahweh. This can be evidenced in the bible through several passages and verses. The book of Romans 2:5-6 speaks about punishment of sin and the coming of a just God who will judge people according to what they have done. The whole book of Revelation speaks of the events that unfold before and after the coming of Jesus to bring justice to the world. From Hinduism the concept of justice is based of Karma and dharma two concepts which state that actions of the present manifest themselves in the future while the later encompasses of duties and obligations which people in their different statuses must fulfil. The presence of Shani dev and Shani devi both of whom are the deities in charge of justice in their mythology show their earnest dedication towards equality in justice. In the Islamic religion justice is viewed as the concept fair and equal treatment with no discrimination. It is a major tenet of Islam applying to all without taking note of anybody’s beliefs, gender or even race. This concept is highly emphasised in the Qur’an and further emphasised by the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The Qur’an states that the Lord won’t burden his people more than what they can bear. In other instances for example in Sura Al-Baqara : 188(2:188) highly condemns the taking or giving of bribes which is in the intent of obstructing justice. 

From these various perspectives from various people we can deduce that justice can be summed up as equality, fairness and paying one’s dues.

 

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