Fwd: Book Review: The Idea of Justice: Amartya Sen

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http://indiafacts.co.in/book-review-idea-justice-amartya-sen/

Saradindu Mukherji

29-07-2015

This book review is jointly authored by Saradindu Mukherji and Shoumendu Mukherji.

The Nobel laureate in economics makes tremendous use of history, contemporary politics and value systems, with a generous mixing of moral judgement in The Idea of Justice (Amartya Sen, Allen Lane, 2009), like many of his publications and public lectures. This review primarily takes up only such matters.

The idea of justice—the origin of the very concept, its tumultuous growth battling the impediments on its  forward journey, its mechanism, and the debate over its effectiveness, is a formidable intellectual challenge, and so is Sen's critique of Rawls, regarded perhaps rightly as one of the most renowned philosophers of our times.  There is a very interesting discussion of the 'Rational Choice Theory' and 'Sustainable Development and the Environment' and more admirable is the way Sen makes them intelligible to the uninitiated. Throughout the course of history, the idea of justice has been conceived and administered in varying ways depending on the socio-cultural ethos and political systems that prevail in various countries.

The Supreme Court of India has opined, 'justice may be social, moral or legal, meaning between two contesting parties in a court of law, as per the record of the case based on evidence after a fair and impartial trial. Further, it has been held that to secure the 'ends of justice' is to act in the best interest of both parties within the four corners of the statute preserving the balance and sanctity of the Constitutional and statutory  rights of the individual and public at large.'

However, in the present times, the idea of justice as propounded by the Supreme Court of India has often been nixed by the belief that 'justice must be seen to be done (R v Thames (1974) 1 WLR 1371) ' at the cost of 'natural justice i.e. the right to a fair trial' in order to please our society at large where perception often triumphs over 'realism'.

An adverse public opinion is manufactured against the accused prematurely on sub-judice matters without weighing the evidence. This precedent is not only irresponsible but damaging to the very root of our legal framework. 'Rule of law' has two aspects—substantive and procedural, where each element complements the other. Compromising on any one over the other owing to exigency or for 'playing to the galleries' critically scuttles the 'due process of law' and results in'rule of law' becoming nugatory.

Be that as it may at the operational level, Sen offers a cross-country scenario of the concept of justice, spread well over many centuries in this work. We note with much optimism his plea for  clearly remediable injustices around us which we want to eliminate' ( p.vii).

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