JUST LAWS AND THE NATURE OF JUSTICE

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF JUST LAWSIn order for a law to be valid, it must be just. A just law has several features to it:

IT IS EQUAL

A just law treats everyone the same BUT – this doesn’t mean that the outcome of

the law would necessarily be equal Consider “anti-hoon” laws: there are often

calls for cars to be impounded and destroyed. Can you explain how this might result in an unequal outcome?

IT IS BASED ON WIDELY HELD VALUES

Laws should be based on the values and ethics held by most of society

IT IS UTILITARIAN*

Laws need to be made for the benefit of society as a whole, even though some individuals might be disadvantaged by them.

* The philosophy of ensuring an action achieves its greatest good for the greatest number of people

IT AIMS TO REDRESS INEQUALITIES

The law shouldn’t create inequality or injustice

For example, a law saying that women should be paid less than men would be unjust

IT MUST MINIMISE DELAY

A just law aims to resolve disputes as soon as practical

Many Australian laws are often criticised for failing to do this

IT MUST NOT BE RETROSPECTIVE

Laws must be created for the future It would be unjust to make a law today that

was to apply to everyone from the beginning of the year – people could be punished for doing something that was legal at the time of their actions, but has been retrospectively made illegal

THE LAW MUST BE KNOWN

Australian governments use Government Gazettes to alert people to changes in the law

Changes to the law are also advertised through the media – eg when traffic laws change

THE NATURE OF JUSTICEJustice is a combination of equality, fairness and access. In many societies, justice is symbolised by Lady Justice:

Blindfold for impartiality

Scales for fairness

Sword to carry out justice

EQUALITY

Just laws do not discriminate They are applied equally to all people The enforcement of the law must also be

equal

FAIRNESS

Just laws do not have a particularly harsh effect on any individual

The right to appeal a decision is a key part of fairness

Fairness and equality aren’t always mutual – it can be argued that, in an attempt to create equality, the concept of fairness has been lost

ACCESS

Individuals must be able to access the law in order for justice to be achieved

They should have access to legal information and assistance, and be able to understand the law

Recently, there have been attempts to make legal documents (eg contracts) easier to understand by using “plain English”

Access also includes physical access – the location of courts and aid offices

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Click icon to add picture Should Australians have an automatic right to a lawyer? (What if you cannot afford one?)