Law and Justice Flashcards
(3 cards)
Paragraph1 for law and justice- Plato first definition of Justice
Throughout the history of law, one of the earliest theorists to defined Justice was Plato, Plato defined justice as harmony between different sectors or classes additionally he argues that justice is an absolute that transcends local customs or conventions and an indispensable quality of moral life Therefore this highlights how the legal system adapts and changes in order to ensure harmony between different areas of society and does not adhere to the local customs. However, this can be different to ensure that harmony remains intact this is because of different views within society this can make this difficult to ensure justice for all this can be seen in various criminal cases,
plato-miscarrage of justice
Whilst trying to maintain this harmony as highlighted by Plato this has led to miscarriage of justice within these cases as seen in the case of Sally Clarke where in 2003 had her conviction quashed for the killing her two babies as the evidence at trial was flawed. The babies were suffering from a severe infection, and the evidence was not given to the defence team at the time thus not mentioned at the time. When examining criminal there are various cases that has allowed for justice This can be seen in the case of In Re Pinochet this is because it established in the law regarding the right to a fair trial this allows for Indvidual’s to gain an impartial trial without any prejudice or malice this is enforced within criminal system through the use of Juries ensuring 12 anonymous peers that make a decision in regards to verdict. This allows for a fair decision that helps aid justice.
Aristotle-examples of justice to different situations
This was later developed by Plato’s student Aristotle identified particular examples of justice that apply to different situations, among there is distributive justice this embodies the idea of fair allocation of the benefits and responsibilities of life,Aristotle further argues that justice changes depending on the time and circumstances. This can be seen in the offences against the person act 1861, when the act was drafted, there was no understanding of mental health or pyschological harm so as societal attitudes have changed the law has changed with it . Judges hhave interpreted Concepts such as bodily harm to include psychological harm as seen in chanfook. This has enabled justice fairly on the other hand, it could be argued that this does not respect parliamentary sovereignity which is democratic and fair but parliament does not have time to reform
