Due Process of Law: The Venerable Backbone of Justice 1100 Words
It is so because due process of law works as a back bone of modern democratic nations. The tenets of justice, equality and equal treatment ensure that each human being in a democratic nation is dealt justifiably as well as equitably. Such an appeal starts from the ancient charter of Magna Carta 1215. In fact, it survives in this date amidst diverse authorities in the world.
This paper will discuss due process of law: historical development and constitutional applicability, contemporary exercise of due process of law, and how such contributes toward protecting rights to individuals.
Definition of Due Process of Law
Due process of law is the principle wherein the government respects every legal right due to a person under the law. That’s why it sustains justice not only in the forming of laws but also in their application and hence, cannot be state arbitrary action at all. There are mostly two types of due process.
Substantive Due Process:-
That is, the law should itself be reasonable, just, and fair. That is it should determine whether a law violated some basic right.
Procedural Due Process:
This principle ensures that the procedures employed in enforcing laws are not obscure and give notice, hearing, and fair trial to people.
Together they form an unbreakable system that would eliminate misuse of power, and induce justice.
Historical Background
It was from the Magna Carta that King John of England accepted in 1215 that traces its roots of this doctrine of due process. In Clause 39, no free man shall be seized, imprisoned, or deprived of his rights or his liberties except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. What we have today is the “law of the land” developed from that doctrine.
It grafted it into the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. The Fifth Amendment so provides that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment applies this protection against the acts of state governments as well.
Due Process in the U.S. Constitution
The due process provisions of both Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments mainly constitute the main promises against governmental overreach, promises which are guarantees of some fundamental fairness and protection of rights which become integral part of liberty. The clauses were construed very broadly by Courts as defining American constitutional law.
Substantive Due Process is actually an effective tool for protection of rights not necessarily constitutionalized. Among its cases include the right of privacy, the right of marriage, and rights in one’s body. Cases using this theory in the further expansion of freedoms by people would be those in the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973 and the Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
Procedural Due Process is also referred to as the administration of justice. In simpler words, it refers to notice, an opportunity to be heard, and through an impartial tribunal to acts against a person. Among some of the very influential cases that helped set standards for procedural due process in administrative processes and judicial processes, are Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) and Matthews v. Eldridge (1976).
Modern Practice
Due process of law has taken new dimensions in recent years and has wrestled with the challenges arising from technological innovations, national security concerns, and changes in mooring of society.
Technological Challenges
It introduces due process of law, which is certainly no longer just straightforward anymore. Due process by digital technology raises concerns over data privacy and the adoption of surveillance for individuals with the community in a broader perspective influencing algorithmic decision through its process.
To prove this, installing AI in criminal justice practice requires procedureality to prevent prejudice in the execution of justice and, hence wrongful convictions.
National Security and Due Process
This is always the backburner of issues: security of people and rights of people. Government thus has a tendency towards resorting to surveillance detentions without a trial or reduced access to counsel under states of emergency. And these too have to be done on the back of due process so that power never misused. Cases like such Hamdi v. Rumsfeld 2004 do exist in United States.
Social Justice and Equity
Due process is a fight against systemic inequalities. Procedural fairness means that there is an access to justice and protection against discrimination practices for the marginalized. Legal aid initiatives, public defenders, and advocacy groups are pushing for upholding due process for everyone regardless of socio-economic background.
Objections and Criticisms
However important its importance may be, this due process of law lacks no criticisms. Undoubtedly, perhaps in the discretion of the judiciary, inconsistencies are possible in application regarding such due process of law.
It is still alleged by some that such a procedure takes much more time compared to what is ordinary or traditional, hence justice suffers at delay and inequalities remain much worse.
This throws the tension areas between judicial activism and restraint even further to the center with the scope of substantive due process debates.
The opponents aver that in some instances, the court has overstretched its constitutional bounds since it invented the rights from very thin constitutional air and thus offended democratic mechanisms.
Indeed, due process of law is a basic feature of justice, because it incorporates principles of equality, fairness, and responsibility. It has gradually developed from the Magna Carta to modern constitutional structures which show that the essential question of protection of individual rights and restriction of governmental power will inherently occur in such societies also in the future.
Therefore, it would remain one among the most important machinery against injustices to the respective societies.
Liberty has essentially been the tale of the evolution of procedural safeguards. It is not a technical requirement but a moral imperative that will enable us to reaffirm our collective commitment to justice and to human dignity.
Conclusion
Due process is not specific to the United States of America. Many countries have due process ingrained in their law, too. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution has accorded the right to life and personal liberty. The same is echoed in the international human rights instruments. That is, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 10, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 14, that emphasizes fair trial and due process.
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