The essence of time in the concept of justice

"Justice delayed is justice denied," said William Ewart Gladstone, a former British Prime Minister and politician of the 1800s. While swift justice is not strictly enforceable, most legal systems aspire to it because of its practical significance as a legal maxim. 

At the time this maxim was first opined, laws and ideas about crime were far stricter, narrow, and biased. In light of the limited potential remedies and legal repercussions, courts were able to make decisions quickly. Nonetheless, these courts had more cases than they could handle in a day. 

Although the global legal framework and regulations have changed dramatically since the 1800s and there have been significant improvements in the application of legal remedies, delays in providing justice to those who have been wronged remain a global issue.

To understand the practical application of the maxim, an understanding of timeliness is necessary. The time it takes to settle a legal question is critical to a person's experience with justice. 

Illustration: TBS

It can be considered grossly unfair in cases where it takes "too long". Recent research shows that the length of time it takes to resolve a dispute is an important factor in whether or not people believe the legal system is just and fair. 

So, defining timeliness in achieving justice is the first step. As a complex and subjective concept, timeliness is likely to be defined differently by each party. 

The International Framework for Court Excellence described timeliness as a balance between the time necessary to gather, present, and weigh facts, legislation, and arguments versus unjustified delays caused by inefficient methods and limited resources.

Thus, there can be quite a few possible reasons for aforesaid delays. The crime rate of a country, population, the density of people living in different classes of society, the ratio between law professionals and aggrieved are a few to be named. 

For example, in civil cases relating to family law, the lack of punctuality can frequently be caused by cultural issues. These issues can have a significant effect on timeliness, in a culturally versatile country like Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, insufficient judicial resources are the primary cause of delays. Around 3.7 million cases are still pending in the courts. However, there are not enough judges to handle them. 

Moreover, the number of people seeking justice in court is high, leading to inflation in cases. The lower courts are the most affected by the high rate of disputes, as each judge is assigned around 2000 cases. 

This leads to the issue of not following procedural law properly. Not following the Code of Civil Procedure correctly, allows cases to linger far too long. In this regard, those who file cases have to bear some of the burdens as well. 

Many disputants lack legal knowledge and some intentionally waste the court's time to win a case. In the same context, a lack of client-to-client interaction and malicious prosecution plays an equal role in creating a backlog of cases.

Criminal cases are no different either. Most criminal cases require extensive investigation to get a clear picture of what happened. Especially in criminal cases, the margin of error should ideally be minuscule as they may have severe implications. 

The "Sagar-Runi" murder case is a perfect example. Despite the case's ninth anniversary, circumstances prevented a full investigation. 

Despite the passage of time, justice was not done due to a lack of evidence and circumstances. Justice is not just about the dismissal of cases and a sentence or judgement. In this regard, execution is vital. 

The gridlock in the judicial system can be seen in the case of Ishtiaque Hossain Jony, who died after being allegedly tortured in police custody in February 2014. But the verdict was declared on September 9, 2020, making the victim's family wait for six long years for justice. 

Speedy trial is a right ensured by our Constitution and the application of the maxim "Justice delayed is justice denied" is a necessity to uphold the true meaning of justice in society. 

Proper use of the provisions of procedural law and narrowing down the dispute of a case, the swift appointment of judges to fill existing vacancies and the creation of additional posts would help reduce delays and arrears. 

Other measures such as a fixed timeframe for the submission of a written statement, not allowing amendment beyond time, limited extension of time in investigation and ensuring accountability of both judges and advocates can be a few other ways to reduce delay. 

However, such cases of delay cannot be completely disregarded as, like any other thing, proper justice requires time. The maxim stands as a reminder of the necessity for a speedy trial in a reasonable time, not as an absolute definition of justice itself.

Shiddhartho Zaman is a Law student currently in the final year of his undergraduate studies at East West University.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.