Administration of Justice | Jurisprudence

1) Introduction -  

      State maintain law and order and establish peace and social security. Administration of Justice is one of the primary functions of the State. The main function of the administration of justice is the protection of individuals' rights, enforcement of laws and punishment of wrongdoer. In determining a nation's rank in a political organization, no test is considered more decisive than its administration of justice, for it has been conceived as one of the firmest peelers of any government.

2) What is Administration of Justice 

     In simple words administration of Justice means justice according to law. Justice generally means the quality of being just.  for example the awarding of what is due.  justice consists of impartiality, integrity or rightness etc Administration of justice is generally divided into two parts- viz Administration of Civil Justice and Administration of Criminal Justice.
      A State may not be called a State if it has failed to discharge its functions concerning the administration of justice. Life may not be lived in a society in which there is no preservation of the rights of man and no prevention of injustice.

3) Origin and Growth of Administration of Justice - 

        The origin and growth of administration of Justice is identical with the origin and growth of man. In modern civilized societies, it has evolved through stages.


First Stage - 

          In early stage when society was primitive and private vengeance and self-help were the only remedies available to the wronged person against the wrongdoer. He could get his wrong addressed with the help of his friends or relatives.

Second Stage -

         The second stage of development of the society was characterized by the state coming into existence in its rudimentary form when its functions where only persuasive in nature. It did not have enforcing power by which it could punish the wrongdoer.

Third Stage -

         In the third Stage of development of society, wrongs could be redressed by payment of compensation by the wrongdoer to the wronged(victim) who was affected by the wrongful act.

Thus up to this time, the justice remained private in nature without the compulsive force of the State. 
 

4) Advantages of Administration of Justice - 

Advantages of Administration of Justice are as follows -

      Uniformity and certainty - Legal Justice ensures uniformity and certainty. Everybody knows what the law is and there is no scope for arbitrary action. Even Judges have to give decisions according to the declared law of the Country. As the law is certain, citizens can shape their conduct accordingly.
   
      Impartiality - Another Advantage of Administration of Justice, there is impartiality in the administration of justice. Judges are required to give their decisions according to the pre-determined legal principles and the cannot go beyond them. 

   

5) Disadvantages of Justice -

    Despite the aforesaid advantages there are certain disadvantages of Legal Justice which are as follows -

     Rigidity - One Disadvantage of Legal Justice is that it is Rigid. Law has already been laid down in precedents. It is not always possible to adjust it to the changing needs of society. Society may change more rapidly than legal justice and may result in hardship and injustice in certain cases. Judges act upon the principle that "hard cases should not make bad law".   

     Technicalities - Another disadvantage of legal justice is its technicalities  (formalism). Judges attach more importance to legal technicalities than they deserve. They give importance to form than to substance. 

     Complexity - Modern society is becoming more and more complicated and if made from time to time to codify or simplify the legal system but very soon law becomes complicated 

See... Doctrine of 'Precedent' in India

6) Types of Administration of Justice - 

a) Criminal Administration of Justice -

         Administration of criminal justice deals with public wrongs. all offenses included in Indian Penal Code(IPC) are public wrongs. The administration of criminal justice is to punish the offender. Punishment may be described as the infliction by State Authority, of a consequence normally regarded as an evil (for example imprisonment or death) on an individual found to be legally guilty of a crime.


See...Punishments under the Indian Penal Code,1860


Importance and Purpose of Criminal Justice 

      The main purpose and object of criminal justice is to punish the wrongdoer (offender) and to maintain law and order in society.   It is the State which punishes the Criminal. Punishment necessarily implies some kinds of pain inflicted upon the offender or loss caused to him for his criminal act which may either be intended to deter him from repeating the crime or maybe an expression of society  disapprobation for his Anti Social conduct or it may also be directed to reform and regenerate him and at the time ported the society from criminals.

b) Civil Administration of Justice - 


     The main object of the administration of civil justice is to provide relief by way of compensation or other relief to the injured party. The rights enforced by Civil proceedings are of two kinds viz., Primary rights and Sanctioning rights. Primary rights are those which exist as such. They do not have their source in some wrong. Sanctioning or remedial rights are those rights which come into being after the violation of a primary right. A primary right is right arising out of conduct or as a jus in rem.
A sanctioning the right is one which arises out of the violation of another right.
         For example, if X enters into a valid contract, his right to have the contract performed is a primary right. If the contract is broken, his right to damages for the loss caused to him for the breach of contract is sanctioning right.
         A primary right may be enforced by specific enforcement. A sanctioning right is enforced by sanctioning enforcement.


Purpose of Civil Administration of Justice

                The purpose of civil justice is the enforcement in civil proceedings, either a primary or a sanctioning right.



See also...

Is law really blind?

Definition and Kinds of Sources of Law

What are Advantages of Precedent?