In this article you will learn about the Role of Judiciary in Political Science.
Role of Judiciary
Here are some important role and functions of the Judiciary :
Equity Legislature : Where a law is ambiguous or silent, or appears to be inconsistent with some other law of the land, the judges, depending upon their sense of justice, impartiality, fairness, honesty and wisdom, decide the cases before them. Such decisions always involve law-making and it is usually termed as equity legislation.
Protection of Rights : The Judiciary has the responsibility to safeguard the rights of the people. In all democratic societies, the judiciary is constitutionally assigned the duty to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens against the encroachments by the state. A citizen has the right to seek the protection of the judiciary in case his rights are violated or threatened by the government or by private organisations of fellow citizens. In all such cases it becomes a responsibility of the judiciary to protect his fundamental rights. For performing this function, the judiciary has the power to issue writs. In case any law or any part of any law violated any fundamental right of the citizens, the judiciary can reject that law, which is found to be unconstitutional or bad.
Guardian of the Constitution : The Judiciary acts as the guardian of the Constitution. The constitution is the supreme law of the land and it is the responsibility of the judiciary to protect it. The people are under the constitution, but the constitution is what the courts says it is. For protecting the supremacy of the constitution, it is the power of the court to review all the laws, with a view to determine as to whether or not these laws are in accordance with the letter and spirit of the constitution.
Special Role of Judiciary in a Federation : The Judiciary has the power not only to deliver judgements and decide disputes, but also has the power to enforce these judgements. It directs the executive to carry out its decisions. It can also summon any person and directly know the truth from him. In case any person is formed guilty of not following any decision of the court or of acting against the direction of the court, or of not appearing before the court for explaining his conduct or for giving any misinformation in a case being heard by it, the court has the power to punish the person for the contempt of court. The judiciary can also get its decisions enforced through its own officials.
Running of the Judicial Administration of the State : The Judiciary is not a department of the government. It is a separate and independent organ with its own organisation, powers, functions and officials. The Judiciary has the power to decide the nature of judicial organisation in the state, of course in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. It frames the rules governing the recruitment and the working of Judicial service and other persons doing the day to day administrative work in the courts.
To Conduct Judicial Probes : Judges are often called upon by the head Enquiry Commissions constituted to enquire into some serious incidents resulting from the alleged errors of commission or omission on the part of the government or some public servants or agents of the government. Commissions of enquiry headed by a single judge are also constituted for investigating complicated issues and problems. These commissions play a key role in bringing to light the facts of the issues under investigation.
This article on Role of Judiciary in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.