Civil and Criminal Administration of Justice | Jurisprudence - CLAT PG PDF Download

Administration of Justice

The administration of justice in modern civilized societies has evolved through 4 stages:

Primitive stage

• When society was primitive, private revenge and self-help were the only remedies available to the wrongdoer.
• People could easily get wrongs redressed with the help of friends and relatives through measures like "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a limb for a limb."

Elementary/Infant stage

• During this stage, law and the state were considered to be at an infant level.
• The state lacked the enforcing power to punish wrongdoers and did not take responsibility for the security of individuals and their property.

The growth of Administration of Justice

• A change occurred where tariff schedules were fixed for different kinds of injuries and offenses.
• Until that time, justice was private in nature without the compulsive force of the state.

The modernization

• This developmental stage saw the state taking on the responsibility of administering justice and punishing wrongdoers using its force when necessary.
• This stage resulted from the gradual evolution of the state and its political power.
• With this transformation, private revenge and self-help were replaced by the administration of criminal and civil justice through law courts.

Concept

• According to Salmond, administration of justice refers to the concept of delivering justice in accordance with the law. The physical force of the state is considered the sole and essential factor for effective administration.
• Administration of justice is regarded as a fundamental pillar of government, with the provision of justice seen as the ultimate goal of law and society. Judges in the courts continuously interpret and apply law to reflect contemporary values and address needs-based rights such as freedom, liberty, dignity, equality, and social justice, as outlined in the constitution.
• Access to justice for all individuals is a foundational principle of the constitution.

Classification

Civil justice

• Blackstone referred to civil justice as addressing "private wrongs." It involves civil injuries where the violation or infringement of an individual's civil or legal rights is considered.
• A civil case may result in an award of compensation or the dismissal of the case. In jurisprudential terms, civil justice is about the enforcement and protection of rights, as opposed to the punishment of wrongs.
• The rights enforced under civil justice can be categorized into primary rights and secondary rights.
• Primary rights involve specific performance, where the defendant is compelled to fulfill a specific obligation, such as paying a debt, performing a contract, or restoring wrongfully taken property.
• Secondary rights involve remedial actions, such as imposing a pecuniary penalty on the wrongdoer or providing pecuniary compensation to the plaintiff for damages suffered due to the defendant's wrongful act.
• Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 defines a civil suit. Civil courts in India have the authority to try all suits of civil nature except those expressly or implicitly barred. These courts can grant declaratory, prohibitory, and monetary reliefs.

Criminal Justice

• Blackstone characterized criminal justice as addressing "public wrongs." The primary objective of administering criminal justice is to punish the offender, although there are exceptional cases where the accused may be acquitted.
• A crime involves the violation of public rights and duties, impacting the community at large. Criminal proceedings can result in various punishments, ranging from the death sentence to fines, or binding over the lawbreaker to maintain peace, or release on probation after admonition.
• In criminal cases, the magistrate is responsible for determining the guilt of the accused based on the evidence presented before him.