Guiding Questions

• Can justice exist outside the law?

• Are legal judgments always just — or sometimes just official?

• Who gives a court its authority — and who questions it?

The Authority of the Court

In modern societies, courts claim to speak for justice. They pass verdicts, resolve disputes, and uphold law.

But what if the law is unjust? Or the verdict is wrong?

Consider:

• Slavery was once upheld by courts.

• Apartheid was enforced through legal systems.

• Segregation in the U.S. was declared constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Dictatorships often maintain courts — and use them to silence dissent.

When a judge declares guilt, is it justice — or just procedure?

Law vs. Legitimacy

Law is what the state declares.

Legitimacy is what the people believe.

A legal system may enforce order — but that does not mean it earns respect.

A verdict may follow rules — but that does not mean it is right.

Legitimacy is not written in law books. It lives in the public conscience.

Philosophical Perspectives

Socrates

Chose to obey an unjust sentence rather than undermine the law itself — believing the rule of law was worth dying for.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Rejected the idea that all laws are just. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, he wrote:

“An unjust law is no law at all.”

Michel Foucault

Saw courts as part of the power structure — instruments not only of justice, but also of control.

A Thought Experiment

Imagine a court finds you guilty — based on a law that bans your ideas.

You are sentenced to prison.

Would you accept the verdict as justice?

Would you obey the court — or resist it?

Now reverse it: What if the court acquits a criminal — because the law favors the powerful?

Would you still believe in the system?

Two Perspectives

Legal Positivism

Justice is whatever the law says. If the court decides, it is just — by definition.

Natural Law

Some truths are higher than the law. If the law violates moral reason, it loses legitimacy.

Tools for Justice

• Appeals and review – no judgment should be final without scrutiny.

• Judicial independence – courts must be free from political influence.

• Public accountability – transparency in how verdicts are made.

• Civil courage – the power to dissent when courts fail to deliver justice.

Reflect and Discuss

• When have you seen a legal decision that felt unjust?

• Do you believe courts can ever be fully neutral?

• Should law be obeyed even when it violates your conscience?

Suggested Readings

• Martin Luther King Jr. – Letter from Birmingham Jail

• Plato – Apology of Socrates

• Michel Foucault – Discipline and Punish

• Hannah Arendt – Eichmann in Jerusalem

• U.S. Supreme Court – Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

“Justice is not a destination — it’s a debate.”

— Tiger Lyon