Policy Analysis of Justice

Justice
Justice is one of the most important moral and political concepts. It is "a concept of moral
rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity and fairness". The
word comes from the Latin jus, meaning "right" or "law". The nature of justice as both a moral
irtue of character and a desirable !uality of political society, as well as how it applies to ethical
and social decision"ma#ing $%ayne P. Pomerleau&.
Theories of Justice Policy
'ome %estern philosophical conceptions of ancient (reece $those of Plato and Aristotle& and of
medieal )hristianity $Augustine and A!uinas&, two early modern ones $*obbes and *ume&,
two from more recent modern times $+ant and ,ill&, and some contemporary ones $-awls and
seeral successors& describe justice theories in sense of ciil disobedience, punishment, e!ual
opportunity for women, slaery, war, property rights, and international relations.
.or Plato, justice is a irtue establishing rational order, with each part performing its appropriate
role and not interfering with the proper functioning of other parts. Aristotle says justice consists
in what is lawful and fair, with fairness inoling e!uitable distributions and the correction of
what is ine!uitable. .or Augustine, the cardinal irtue of justice re!uires that we try to gie all
people their due/ for A!uinas, justice is that rational mean between opposite sorts of injustice,
inoling proportional distributions and reciprocal transactions. *obbes belieed justice is an
artificial irtue, necessary for ciil society, a function of the oluntary agreements of the social
contract/ for *ume, justice essentially seres public utility by protecting property $broadly
understood&. .or +ant, it is a irtue whereby we respect others0 freedom, autonomy, and dignity
by not interfering with their oluntary actions, so long as those do not iolate others0 rights/ ,ill
said justice is a collectie name for the most important social utilities, which are conducie to
fostering and protecting human liberty. -awls analy1ed justice in terms of ma2imum e!ual
liberty regarding basic rights and duties for all members of society, with socio"economic
ine!ualities re!uiring moral justification in terms of e!ual opportunity and beneficial results for
all/ and arious post"-awlsian philosophers deelop alternatie conceptions $%ayne P.
Pomerleau&
Justice in Pakistan
There are a number of indicators that show the e2tent to which justice preails in a gien
country. 3ne of these is whether all the people in it, irrespectie of their race, religion, color, se2
or wealth, are able to meet their basic needs and to hae access to all the utilities that are needed
to ma#e life comfortable. It may be possible to #now this partly from the Purchasing Power
Parity $PPP& adjusted (4P and its distribution among the people. The reason we hae to ta#e
the PPP adjusted (4P is that the nominal (4P does not indicate the right picture. The PPP
adjusted (4P of all the 56 ,uslim countries adds up to only 78.9 trillion. This is only : percent
of the PPP adjusted world (4P of ;:.5 trillion. %e can see from this that, while the ,uslims
constitute at least <= percent of the world population, their share of PPP adjusted (4P is only :
percent.
If this (4P were e!uitably distributed among all people, we could not complain. All that we
could say is that, een though the ,uslim world is poor relatie to the rest of the world, there is
at least justice in it. *oweer, this is not the case. This can be #nown from the (ini inde2 and
the percentage of income or consumption enjoyed by the top and bottom => or <> percent of the
population. The paltry data that are aailable indicate that there are substantial ine!ualities of
income, so much so that a small proportion of the population lies in e2cessie lu2ury while a
substantially large proportion of the people are unable to satisfy een their basic needs. This
condition does not reflect the teachings of Islam $)hapra, ?.&.
Social Justice
'ocial justice is the ability people hae to reali1e their potential in the society where they lie.
)lassically, "justice" $especially correctie justice or distributie justice& referred to ensuring
that indiiduals both fulfilled their societal roles, and receied what was due from society.
"'ocial justice" is generally used to refer to a set of institutions which will enable people to lead
a fulfilling life and be actie contributors to their community. The goal of social justice is
generally the same as human deelopment. The releant institutions can include education,
health care, social security, labour rights, as well as a broader system of public serices,
progressie ta2ation and regulation of mar#ets, to ensure fair distribution of wealth, e!uality of
opportunity, and no gross ine!uality of outcome $)hapra, ?.&.
Social Injustice
'ocial Injustice0 is a concept relating to the perceied unfairness or injustice of a society in its
diisions of rewards and burdens. The concept is distinct from those of justice in law, which
may or may not be considered moral in practice. 'ocial Injustice arises when e!uals are treated
une!ually and une!ual are treated e!ually.
?nited @ations declaration on human rights says, ABery man is a joint inheritor of all the
natural resources and of the powers, inentions and possibilities accumulated by our
forerunners. *e is entitled, within the measure of these resources and without distinction of race,
colour or professed beliefs or opinions, to the nourishment, coering and medical care needed to
realise his full possibilities of physical and mental deelopment from birth to death.
@otwithstanding the arious and une!ual !ualities of indiiduals, all men shall be deemed
absolutely e!ual in the eyes of the law, e!ually important in social life and e!ually entitled to the
respect of their fellow"men.C
?nfortunately, Islamic -epublic of Pa#istan stands on the top of those countries where social
injustice preails at eery leel of the society. )iti1ens of Pa#istan are unaware of social justice
concept and its effects on society. Pa#istan0s ciil and military rulers and elite class hae been
plundering this country since independence. They hae always been claiming that they are pious
and others are corrupt. ,ilitary ruler assertion is completely wrong. The fact is that country0s
condition has been deteriorating under all regimes.
Today, Pa#istan is standing at e2tremely dangerous and appalling point where there is a genuine
fear that the country might anish from the map of the world if correctie measures are not
ta#en. The harsh fact is that poorer is getting poorer and richer is getting richer but policy
ma#ers are unmoed. All goernments of Pa#istan hae always played with the statistics and
tell the nation that we are better off under their regime than the preious ones. Instead of
proiding justice, improing economic conditions of the masses and decreasing the class
difference in society, they are busy in finding legs to stand upon their lies as truth.
The ruling and elite class of Pa#istan neer promoted concept of 'ocial 4emocracy that includes
a society where all get opportunity to rise, a society without strong class system, policies and
programs to reduce unemployment, welfare society, respect of labor irrespectie of their leel of
education, respect of people irrespectie of their family bac#ground, culture of honesty, a
strongly progressie ta2 system, generous goernment proision of non"cash benefits such as
education, health and housing, honest and independent Judiciary, patriotic society where
interests of collectiity are supreme, rule orientation, constitution is considered a sacred
document, religious tolerance, honest ciil and military bureaucracy which act within their
domains, military finds no room in politics, high standard Public sector education, Proincial
integration, acceptance of Pushto, Daluchi, Panjabi and 'indhi as official languages along with
?rdu, independent foreign policy.
The trends toward ine!uality in society are not ineitable and can be modified by sound public
policy based on a robust ersion of the concept of Ae!ual worthC. ,easures which improe the
economic status of the least well off, increase employment, reduce ine!uality and Aciili1eC the
wor#place are li#ely to produce significant improements for all of us. )onersely, passiity,
selfishness and indifference to the fate of our fellow citi1ens are certain to lead to unnecessary
and significant social dislocation. It0s all a !uestion of what we are prepared to do $'aleem
+han, <>>:&
riminal Justice
)riminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of goernments directed at upholding
social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who iolate laws with
criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime hae protections against
abuse of inestigatory and prosecution powers, though the effectieness of these rights hae
aried $%al#er 'amuel, =99<&
Systematic !nalysis of Justice Policy
It has been argued that Esystematic0 or Eprogrammatic0 political and moral philosophy in the
%est begins, in Plato0s -epublic. According to most contemporary theories of justice, justice is
oerwhelmingly importantF John -awls claims that "Justice is the first irtue of social
institutions, as truth is of systems of thought." In classical approaches, eident from Plato
through to -awls, the concept of Ejustice0 is always construed in logical or Eetymological0
opposition to the concept of injustice. 'uch approaches cite arious e2amples of injustice, as
problems which a theory of justice must oercome. A number of post"%orld %ar II approaches
do, howeer, challenge that seemingly obious dualism between those two concepts. Justice can
be thought of as distinct from beneolence, charity, prudence, mercy, generosity, or
compassion, although these dimensions are regularly understood to also be interlin#ed. Justice is
the concept of cardinal irtues, of which it is one. Justice has traditionally been associated with
concepts of fate, reincarnation or 4iine Proidence, i.e. with a life in accordance with the
cosmic plan. The association of justice with fairness has thus been historically and culturally
rare and is perhaps chiefly a modern innoation.
The justice system is systematic and wide"ranging change in the way it operates and how it
achiees its goals. The threads of wideranging reform proposals hae already been spun and are
in arious states of deelopment. %hen properly gathered, these threads of reform can be #nit
together into a system that will more fully desere our pride and support. The best thin#ing
within our justice community offers improed protection for the community and justice for the
accused, the ictim and the community. It also addresses the preention of crime and the
restoration of offenders to fulfilling, alued lies. +nitting together the best proposals and
models will result in a well"managed system that will effectiely achiee both improed public
safety and fairness, a system that will respond to the dynamic changes in criminal conduct and
that will operate with transparency and accountability $%ayne P. Pomerleau&
Indicators of Justice
Table shows, the fifteen indicators fall into two categoriesF $=& Guantitatie Indicators, and $<&
Policy Indicators $?@I)B., <>>H&
Stakehoder !nalysis of Justice Policy
The criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes established by goernments to
control crime and impose penalties on those who iolate laws. There is no single criminal
justice system in the ?nited 'tates but rather many similar, indiidual systems. *ow the
criminal justice system wor#s in each area depends on the jurisdiction that is in chargeF city,
county, state, federal or tribal goernment or military installation. 4ifferent jurisdictions hae
different laws, agencies, and ways of managing criminal justice processes. The main systems
areF
i" State# 'tate criminal justice systems handle crimes committed within their state
boundaries.
ii" $ederal# The federal criminal justice system handles crimes committed on federal
property or in more than one state.
,ost criminal justice systems hae fie components"law enforcement, prosecution,
defense attorneys, courts, and corrections, each playing a #ey role in the criminal
justice process.
iii" %aw &nforcement officers# Law enforcement officers ta#e reports for crimes that
happen in their areas. 3fficers inestigate crimes and gather and protect eidence.
Law enforcement officers may arrest offenders, gie testimony during the court
process, and conduct follow"up inestigations if needed.
i'" Prosecution# Prosecutors are lawyers who represent the state or federal goernment
$not the ictim& throughout the court process"from the first appearance of the
accused in court until the accused is ac!uitted or sentenced. Prosecutors reiew the
eidence brought to them by law enforcement to decide whether to file charges or
drop the case. Prosecutors present eidence in court, !uestion witnesses, and decide
$at any point after charges hae been filed& whether to negotiate plea bargains with
defendants. They hae great discretion, or freedom, to ma#e choices about how to
prosecute the case. Iictims may contact the prosecutorJs office to find out which
prosecutor is in charge of their case, to inform the prosecutor if the defense attorney
has contacted the ictim<, and to see# other information about the case.
'" (efense !ttorneys# 4efense attorneys defend the accused against the goernmentJs
case. They are ether hired by the defendant or $for defendants who cannot afford an
attorney& they are assigned by the court. %hile the prosecutor represents the state,
the defense attorney represents the defendant.
'i" ourts# )ourts are run by judges, whose role is to ma#e sure the law is followed and
oersee what happens in court. They decide whether to release offenders before the
trial. Judges accept or reject plea agreements, oersee trials, and sentence conicted
offenders.
Judiciary# The rule of law re!uires that we hae a truly independent judiciary.
Judicial independence includes those administratie decisions that bear directly
and immediately on the e2ercise of the judicial function.
There are important potential areas of reform that relate to matters that fall s!uarely
within judicial independence, such as judicial case assignments and trial
management. There are also other areas, such as general court administration, where
the e2ecutie branch of goernment and the judiciary must depend on one another to
fully discharge the public interest. There are also areas of the system where judicial
independence is not engaged. Ben in areas of e2clusie authority, a successful
justice system will re!uire collaboration and coordination between the judiciary and
e2ecutie branches of goernment.
'ii" orrections officers# )orrection officers superise conicted offenders when they
are in jail, in prison, or in the community on probation or parole. In some
communities, corrections officers prepare pre"sentencing reports with e2tensie
bac#ground information about the offender to help judges decide sentences. The job
of corrections officers is to ma#e sure the facilities that hold offenders are secure and
safe. They oersee the day"to"day custody of inmates. They also oersee the release
processes for inmates and sometimes notify ictims of changes in the offenderJs
status. $The )riminal Justice 'ystem&
(iscourse !nalysis of Justice Policy
)riminal justice policy uses language that has inherent social and moral connotations such as
criminals, delin!uency, community dysfunction, social isolation, indiidual and enironmental
criminogenic factors. )riminologic theories focus on personal and societal causes of poerty
and crime. )riminal justice policy is geared toward controlling social dysfunction. The cause of
dysfunction, our arious theories propose, are internal and e2ternal factors such as lac# of
political power, poerty mentality, lac# of economic iability, lac# of educational achieement,
single female head of household families, absent fathers, and so on. -egardless of how these
factors are iewed and e2plained, they all hae moral connotations attached to them. ,ore
significantly, criminal justice policy is a subject the general public can easily relate to and
deelop opinions about $at least in regard to causation& without immersion and education in our
discipline. Terms of art in criminal justice are much more easily integrated, without e2planation,
into the general political discourse than are terms such as Apolygenetic theories of liing
organisms.C
There are increasingly growing gaps between the justice sector reform discourse in Pa#istan and
peoplesJ actual e2pectations from and differential e2perience with the justice system as
determined by arious leels of social, economic and political dis"empowerment and isolation.
The Jlegal reform communityJ monopoli1e the justice sector reform discourse in Pa#istan and as
a result, this discourse is socially de"conte2tuali1ed. This Jlegal reform communityJ includes
judges, lawyers, goernment policyma#ers and law officials, as well as local and international
consultants employed in justice sector reform policy"ma#ing and adisory wor# in Pa#istan. In
many instances, the members of this Jlegal reform communityJ are the consultantsKadisors that
design, formulate, influence and implement reform interentions while simultaneously being the
objectKtarget of reforms $with the reform agenda oerwhelmingly concentrating on reforming
the judiciary and the court system&. 4ue to their particular ethos, perspectie and design, the
reform prescriptions coming from the Jlegal reform communityJ adopt a macro, abstract and
narrowly doctrinal and legalistic perspectie to law reform. These prescriptions largely ignore
the arious social, economic and political conte2tual constraints that may inhibit access to legal
remedies for different sections of contemporary Pa#istani society. This reform process and
resulting reform prescriptions are highly e2clusionary of ital sta#eholders who are not
members of this Jlegal reform community.J In other words, the Jlegal reform communityJ is
motiated by a reform philosophy, and drien by a reform agenda that creates an artificial diide
between the legal system and society. This reform agenda focuses on the speed and deliery
capacity of the e2tant legal and judicial system and pursues this goal through strident adocacy
for greater numbers, better infrastructure, higher remuneration, and greater staff support for the
judiciary. There is little or no attention to the legal systemJs actual comple2 and multifarious
interplay with and impact on dierse sections of society $'iddi!ue, <>=>&.
$orce field !nalysis of Justice Policy
The force field analysis, the techni!ue of analy1ing the conditions that support or restrain a
gien outcome, was deeloped by +urt Lewin. ?se of a force field analysis can be an effectie
way to both analy1e an e2isting set of conditions and determine the most effectie methods to
moe closer to a desired outcome.
It is the fundamental duty and responsibility of the country to fulfill the basic needs of its
people. Dasic needs of man comprises of shelter, food and clothing. %hen these needs are not
fulfilled they bring about problems termed as socio"economic problems. Pa#istan has also been
suffering from these problems. The real issue is not the presence of these problems in the
society. Dut the e2tent to which they are being paid attention and soled. %hen these problems
are not met timely the results in the form of deiant behaior, drug abuse, smuggling,
corruption, poerty, illiteracy and many other social eils.
JAn effectie criminal justice system is fundamental to the maintenance of law and order.
)riminal justice, because it addresses behaioral issues, must be dynamic and proactie.
)onse!uently, many of the proisions are outdated and in some cases anachronistic. Desides,
the loopholes in the laws and procedure hae become so obious that lawyers especially defense
lawyers hae become masters in dilatory tactics. It has thus, become increasingly difficult to
reach closure of any #ind in many criminal cases. $'entencing Law and Policy&
)arrati'es of Justice
i" Justice Joseph
Joseph 'tory was born in ,arblehead, ,assachusetts in =669. *e graduated from *arard in
=69:, second in his class. *e was admitted to the bar in =:>=. .rom =:>5 to =:==, 'tory sered
in the state legislature, )ongress, and as 'pea#er of the ,assachusetts *ouse of -epresentatie.
*is decision to get out of politics rested largely on his personal belief that allegiance to a
particular party re!uired too much sacrifice of opinions and feelings. At age 8< 'tory was
appointed to the 'upreme )ourt by James ,adison.
4espite 'tory0s personal feelings on slaery $Aunnecessary, unjust, and inhuman LandM
repugnant to the general principles of justice and humanityC/ Arepugnant to...the dictates on
natural religion, the obligations of good faith and morality and the eternal ma2ims of social
justice.C&, he often felt compelled to uphold slaery in his rulings. %hen possible, howeer, he
would find ways to narrow its application. 'uch a possibility e2isted in the case in ?nited 'tates
. Amistad, and 'tory narrowly interpreted the Treaty of =695 so as not to apply to the Amistad
case, and thus justify an order releasing the Africans.
'tory0s impact on the eolution of law in America reaches far beyond his 'upreme )ourt
decisions. *e wrote eleen olumes on commentary on arious branches of American law. *is
fre!uent critic, 3lier %endell *olmes, conceded that 'tory had Adone more than any other
Bnglish"spea#ing man in this century to ma#e the law luminous and easy to understand.C .rom
=:<9 to =:;5, 'tory sered as 4ane Professor of Law at *arard ?niersity. *e almost single"
handedly founded the law school $which had only one student the year before his arrial&, and
under his guidance the law school at *arard became the model for national, uniersity"based
legal education in the ?nited 'tates.
%hile sering on the 'upreme )ourt, 'tory would continue to ride the @ew Bngland circuit
twice a year, holding court in ,assachusetts, -hode Island, @ew *ampshire and ,aine. In
order to do this, and maintain his teaching duties at *arard and sere on the 'upreme )ourt, he
traeled more than <>>> miles a year oer sometimes dangerous roads. 4espite 'tory0s ast and
aried duties, he seems to hae li#ed best to teach at *arard. *e endearingly referred to his
students there as his Afoster children,C and one such student commented that Ahe neer seemed
to hae been happierC than when he was at the law school. *istorians hae noted that Anowhere
was his buoyant personality, his #indness, his gift for gab, his idealism more apparent than in
the old Lecture -oom of 4ane *all.C $@oreen ,c@ulty, <>=8&
ii" Story of Justice
4elbert was #nown to people around the world as a witness to the barbarism of the death
penalty system in the ?.'. and an actiist against it. 4elbert spent three years on .loridaJs death
row until he was found innocent and e2onerated.
4elbert was born in ,ississippi to tenant farmer parents""when he was =<, he and his mother
moed to )hicago. %hile traeling the country in =96;, 4elbert was stopped and !uestioned by
police in .lorida about the rape of a teenaged woman and the murder of her companion, both of
them white.
The description of the suspect from the suriing ictim was nearly the opposite of 4elbert. The
suspect was described as 5"foot"H"inches, with a dar# comple2ion. 4elbert had a light
comple2ion and was oer H feet tall. 4elbert had a solid alibi, but that didnJt stop prosecutors
from putting him on trial, aided by the testimony of a jailhouse snitch who later said he
fabricated his claim that 4elbert had confessed to him in the hopes of lenient treatment on a rape
charge. An all"white jury conicted 4elbert after two days of deliberations.
There was a public campaign for 4elbertJs freedom""fol#singer Pete 'eeger wrote a song about
his case. The .lorida 'upreme )ourt eentually reersed his coniction and 4elbert was
released in =966. .ie years later, the charges against him were officially dropped.
4elbert went on to spea# across the country and around the world, often on national and
international tours for the anti"death penalty group %itness to Innocence. Dut 4elbert is
especially well #nown and loed by the abolitionist community in )hicago, where he was
always ready to share his story and spea# out for justice at rallies, protests, public forums and
church meetings.
Decause of what happened to him, and what he saw happening to so many other Dlac# men
caught up in the injustice system, 4elbert always pointed to the issue of racism in ?.'. society.
The .inal )all !uoted him telling a gathering of seeral do1en peopleF "If youJre Dlac# and grew
up in America, you #now nothing else has been applied fairly. 'o why the death penalty would
be applied fairlyN"
%heneer you would see 4elbert, he was ready with warm words and a strong hug. %hen he
told his story in his deep and steady and persuasie oice, he moed people to become more
committed opponents of capital punishment. $@oreen ,c@ulty, <>=8&.
*eferences
)hapra, ?. $n.d.&. Socio-Economic Justice and the Muslim World. -etrieed ,ay =H, <>=;,
from Institute of Policies studies, IslamabadF httpFKKwww.ips.org.p#Kislamic"thoughtsK998"socio"
economic"justice"and"the"muslim"world
%al#er, 'amuel $=99<&. "3rigins of the )ontemporary )riminal Justice ParadigmF The
American Dar .oundation 'urey, =958"=9H9". Justice Guarterly 9 $=&F ;6.
doiF=>.=>:>K>6;=::<9<>>>9=<5=.
+han, '. $<>>:&. Pakistan: Social Injustice. -etrieed ,ay =5, <>=;, from
httpFKKwww.p#hope.comKpa#istan"social"injusticeK
@oreen ,c@ulty. $<>=8, @oember&. Story of Justice. -etrieed ,ay =:, <>=;, from 'ocial
%or#erF httpFKKlaw<.um#c.eduKfacultyKprojectsKftrialsKamistadKamiObsto.htm
'iddi!ue, 3. $<>=>&. Reforming Pakistans Justice Sector Reform iscourse! Lahore.
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Justice. $<>=8, July =H&. -etrieed ,ay =8, <>>5, from )riminal JusticeF
httpFKKec.europa.euKjusticeKcriminalKinde2Oen.htm
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saasKe2panding"sta#eholder"inolement
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%ayne P. Pomerleau. $n.d.&. Western 'heories of Justice. -etrieed ,ay =8, <>=;, from Internet
Bncyclopedia of PhilosophyF httpFKKwww.iep.utm.eduKjustwestK
?@I)B.. $<>>H&. Manual for the Measurement of ju(enile justice indicators! @ew Qor#F ?nited
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'he #riminal Justice System. $n.d.&. -etrieed ,ay <>, <>=;, from The @ational )enter for
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