Answer

Justice is not static; it evolves with societal values and norms. As John Rawls stated, “Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.” What was considered just in the past may seem unjust today due to shifting societal contexts.

Concept of Just and Unjust as Contextual:

• Historical Legislation and Social Evolution: The concept of justice evolves with societal norms, often influenced by cultural relativism and historical determinism, where outdated practices are redefined as unjust through legal reforms.
  For example: The Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829, outlawed Sati, demonstrating how cultural practices once considered just were redefined through the doctrine of moral evolution.
• Technological Advances and Legal Responses: As technology evolves, legal positivism emphasises the need for laws to adapt to new realities, ensuring justice in emerging domains like digital crimes.
  For example: The Information Technology Act, 2000, amended in 2008, reflects the application of utilitarian ethics to address the greater good by ensuring data privacy and curbing cybercrime.
• Economic Changes and Justice: The evolution of justice in the economic sphere is often guided by distributive justice, ensuring fair resource allocation in response to market shifts and globalisation.
  For example: Post-liberalization economic policies in India necessitated the revision of labour laws, grounded in Rawlsian theory to ensure fairness and equity in emerging capitalist structures.
• Shifts in Collective Morality: Collective morality evolves over time, influenced by moral realism and cognitive dissonance theory, where societal values change, leading to legal reforms in justice.
• Public Health and Ethics: In public health, biomedical ethics and the harm principle guide the balance between individual autonomy and societal welfare, especially during health crises.
  For example: The imposition of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic required redefining justice by balancing individual freedoms with the collective right to public health.

Essence of “What was just a year back, may turn out to be unjust in today’s context. Changing context should be constantly under scrutiny to prevent miscarriage of justice.”:

• Evolving Societal Norms: Laws and social values evolve with time, and actions once deemed acceptable may now be considered unjust due to changing societal attitudes. Justice must adapt to reflect these shifts.
  For example: The decriminalisation of homosexuality in India with the 2018 Supreme Court ruling overturned outdated laws from colonial times.
• Legal Precedents and International Influence: Global legal standards influence national justice systems, necessitating constant scrutiny of old judgments to ensure alignment with contemporary international norms.
  For example: India’s shift towards more progressive privacy laws after the global debate on data protection influenced by the European GDPR regulations.
• Moral and Ethical Progress: As collective morality progresses, actions previously justified under older ethical standards may now be recognized as unjust, requiring reassessment to maintain fairness.
  For example: The acceptance of capital punishment has decreased globally as ethical perspectives on human rights evolve.
• Cultural Sensitivities: Cultural shifts may alter what is considered just or unjust, as the societal understanding of fairness and respect for diversity evolves over time.
  For example: In the past, many cultural practices, such as child marriage, were socially accepted but are now considered unjust and illegal due to evolving cultural norms in India.

Ways in Which Changing Context Should Be Constantly Under Scrutiny to Prevent Miscarriage of Justice

• Regular Legal Reforms: Continuous legal reforms grounded in dynamic jurisprudence ensure that laws remain relevant and just in the face of societal changes, avoiding legal stagnation.
  For example: The Indian Penal Code is regularly updated to address new crimes like cyberbullying, ensuring justice adapts to emerging challenges.
• Judicial Reviews: The doctrine of judicial review ensures that laws and policies are scrutinised for constitutionality, preventing injustices caused by outdated or unjust laws.
  For example: The Supreme Court of India regularly uses judicial review to ensure laws reflect evolving social values and do not violate fundamental rights.
• Ethical Committees and Audits: Bioethics and technological ethics require constant evaluation through ethics committees, especially in emerging fields like AI, to prevent injustices in rapidly advancing sectors.
  For example: AI ethics committees evaluate the implications of new technologies from a justice perspective, ensuring algorithmic fairness.
• International Benchmarking: Global governance principles necessitate that national laws align with international standards, ensuring justice on a global scale and preventing normative isolationism.
  For example: India’s human rights reviews by international bodies help ensure domestic laws align with global justice standards.
• Educational Reforms in Legal Studies: Integrating legal pluralism and emerging legal fields into legal education ensures future jurists are equipped to address contemporary justice challenges.
  For example: Indian law schools now offer courses in cyber law and international law, reflecting the evolving justice landscape.
• Transparency and Accountability in Governance: Good governance principles advocate for transparency and accountability in public administration, preventing corruption and miscarriages of justice.
  For example: The Right to Information Act, 2005, ensures transparency in governance, promoting accountability and fair administration.

Justice must constantly evolve with societal, technological, and moral changes to ensure fairness and equity. As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rightly said, “Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion, of compensation…the idea of justice is the firm and continuous disposition to render to every man his due,” emphasising the need for adaptable legal frameworks that uphold fairness and proportionality.

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