Essay On Criminal Justice

Two concepts, criminal and justice, are crucial concerning the nation's criminal justice system. Criminal refers to a person who has engaged in a criminal action or has been found guilty in court (Hagan, , 2012). The second term, justice, also has diverse connotations for judges and attorneys. Justice, in the eyes of lawyers, is the application of the legal standards established by governmental processes to settle disputes between private parties or with the state. And for judges, justice means the application of such established legal rules in the present disputed situation without any fear. But in using both of these terms, the question arises regarding the togetherness of these terms (Noone & Ojelabi, 2020). Therefore, in this context, this essay will discuss how these two concepts function together as well as the process used by the Australian criminal justice system to administer justice.

 

The purpose of the criminal justice system is to provide justice to the person against whom interest the crime has been committed by the criminal or to the victim to whom harm has been caused. It means this role of the criminal justice system comes into the picture when any criminal activity is performed by the criminal. And then, to provide justice to the victim, the entire process including the arrest, the investigation to establish the facts of the case, the filing of charges against the defendant, and the delivery of a judgment is followed to punish the offender and provide relief for the victim (Australian Bureau of Statisitics, 2021). The relationship between crime and justice can therefore be understood by the obvious fact that if there are no criminals, there would be no crimes committed and no need for the criminal justice system to administer justice. In this light, it is possible to assert that the criminal justice system and justice go hand in hand (Marsh, & Melville, , 2014).

 

However, the Australian justice system plays a crucial role in ensuring that the people receive justice when crimes are committed and the number of criminals in society rises. To give justice to the side who deserves it in a criminal case, Australia normally follows two types of laws: first, laws formed by the parliament through a valid constitutional procedure, and second, laws based on common law principles. Law passed by both houses of parliament (the Senate and the House of Representatives) with a majority vote and approved by the sovereign's representative is referred to as "parliamentary legislation" and is a part of the nation's legal system. Additionally, the common law rules aim to give the victim of criminal justice under the law based on earlier rulings made in similar criminal cases. Provisions of the common law have been decided in the case of Piro v Foster. In this case, it was decided that the state court should follow the decision of the House of Lords as required in the particular case situation  (Legal Service Commission of South Australia, 2021). However, the concept of the rule of law is always taken into consideration in the Australian legal system while attempting to bring justice, whether by governmental legislation or by adhering to common law requirements. The cornerstone of the Australian legal system is the rule of law. The idea behind the "rule of law" is that both the government and the people are bound by the law. It means that, following the rule of law, everyone is subject to the country's laws, regardless of their status or position (Law Council of Australia, 2021). The use of arbitrary authority or judgments that are not based on the law protects citizens by limiting the power of the government, citizens, and businesses. There are certain features that this rule of law principle contains and uses to provide justice to the victims in the criminal case. These principles include the right to procedural fairness, which guarantees that everyone receives natural justice, the right to a fair and public trial for everyone, the prohibition of punishment unless the crime against the offender is proven, and the right to challenge government decisions through the media and the legal system, and the prohibition of retrospective laws, which allow for the conviction of an individual for the act for which the law was made at the time the offence was committed. These are some of the guiding principles of the rule of law, which is a crucial component of the Australian justice system and the foundation upon which justice is administered fairly (Parliamentary Education of Office, 2021).

 

After all the discussion, it can be concluded that in the country's criminal justice system, justice and criminals go hand in hand since, until a criminal commits a crime, there is no likelihood that the victim would receive restitution through the legal and judicial process. Furthermore, if criminal conduct is committed, the Australian justice system operates under the rule of law, which guarantees that no one would remain without justice and a fair process will be followed to deliver justice to the people.

 

Australian Bureau of Statisitics, 2021. Crime and Justice: The Criminal Justice System. [Online] Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/a4d719473be50fdfca2570ec001b2c95!OpenDocument#:~:text=The%20Australian%20criminal%20justice%20system,to%20community%20members%2C%20are%20criminal. [Accessed July 2022].

 

 

Hagan, , J., 2012. Who are the criminals?. In Who Are the Criminals?.. Law Council of Australia, 2021. Rule of Law. [Online] Available at: https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/policy-agenda/international-law/rule-of-law[Accessed July 2022].

 

 

Legal Service Commission of South Australia, 2021. Sources of law. [Online] Available at: https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch27s02.php [Accessed July 2022].

 

 

Marsh, , I. & Melville, , G., 2014. Crime, justice and the media. s.l.:s.n.

 

 

Noone, M. & Ojelabi, L., 2020. Alternative dispute resolution and access to justice in Australia.. International Journal of Law in Context, 16(2), pp. 108-127.

 

 

Parliamentary Education of Office, 2021. Rule of law. [Online] Available at: https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-government/rule-of-law/[Accessed July 2022].