69 

 

 

THE CONCEPT OF LAW AND JUSTICE 

 

 

Ilir QABRATI  

University “Ukshin Hoti” Prizren, Faculty of law. ilirqabrati1@outlook.de 

 

Article history: 

Submission 07 August 2020 

Revision 12 September 2020 

Revision 25 September 2020 

Accepted 30 November 2020 

Available online 31 December 2020 

 

Keywords:  

Law,  

Justice,  

State,  

Society and Norms. 

A b s t r a c t 

From the views and changes that have followed the dynamism of our society, undoubtedly, law and 

justice have played a crucial role as a very abstract term that has been consumed almost from the 

first beginnings of human society to our modern days. Beyond the events and circumstances that 

societies in the past have had and organized by defining and choosing the way of life, and often times 

the right has been personalized by a certain group of people, or by a military division that has given 

rights and has created justice, in certain interests and for personal and charismatic purposes it has 

been denied a certain part of society, and has often been deformed in scandalous ways by reflecting, 

on the fact that the giver of this right has often been pointed out to be the man, but this convulsion 

in no case has lasted long, and often this theory has remained unrealized, reflecting that right is 

something natural and that the individual gains at the moment of birth and enjoys it to death, this 

divergence and complexity of the way of perceiving the law has often resulted in wars and the 

acquisition of this vital right. 

 

Through this paper we will draw philosophical and legal paradigms, analyzing from a retrospective 

way of the application of law and the applicability of justice, as an important mechanism of 

regulation of social relations. Law and justice have a common path of development, one by regulating 

the way of life of the people, that is, by issuing norms and the other by giving justice to the relative 

complexity and cohesion of interpersonal relations. 

  

 

 

1. Introduction 

The topic chosen for analysis, which is entitled the concept of law 

and justice, basically contains an extension of a concept which 

addresses both from a philosophical and legal point of view, and 

above all expresses the abstract concept that our consciousness 

judges in relation to a right, or share a justice if not from an 

institution, then anyway from our private life, to the separation of 

justice from our institutions. 

 

This topic from the philosophical treatment in its background, has 

drawn deep thoughts by analyzing those of philosophers and 

ideators who have dealt with this issue from the past to the present 

day, and at the same time I have drawn paradigms of a personal 

judgment regarding justice.  

 

As far as the legal side is concerned, we have dealt with a part of 

the legal structure which this right finds its basis only in written 

leagues, and which for each of the citizens it becomes mandatory 

in terms of its observance. And it is precisely these rights that 

maintain our balance in a society. 

 

2. On the Law 

When we talk about law, we must return to the vital origin of its 

history, the philosophical point of view of law as the basis of 

philosophical and scientific articulation where it is rightly called 

that the subject of philosophy is law itself, therefore the study of 

law has never been easy, and in particular Kant's view when 

synchronizing the idea of disregarding jurists, and between the 

lines he emphasizes that law is still being sought, by philosophers, 

jurists, and the individual. 

 

Regarding the law from the philosophical point of view, and using 

the a priori method I am involved in some names starting from 

the one which is evident "the right", through this name we 

understand the norms that are sanctioned by the state or with a 

formal-legal definition, we can understand: That norms are a set 

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of rules, that society has regulated its behavior, through these 

rules, and for violators of these norms sanctions are applied, or 

the democratic and legitimate apparatus of the state, thus the 

applicability of legal norms (Osmani,  2004).  Among other 

things, we have the opinion of the famous philosopher A. 

KAUFMAN, where according to him the right has its existence, 

it is positive because it is created through the law, it also has its 

own brand or content, it has justice, regularization (Lukiq,  2008).  

It is an opportunity of logical understanding when human 

consciousness attributes to the creation of a norm with rule 

content when it modifies the relations in a certain society, in 

different forms as for each case with special satributes gives a 

certain solution. 

 

We also find another concept on law in the great philosopher H. 

Kelzen, where he says that positive law is the right itself, those 

legal norms, which are quite concretized, and actualized can be 

accurately recognized and applied. So it is about norms that are 

understandable, with clear meaning, in determining human 

behaviors (Kryeziu, 2011).   

 

Contrary to these concepts, which are confronted from different 

points of view and currents of thought, where we find almost a 

greater part of the thoughts that match each other considering the 

right as a norm itself, but a facticist theorist of South America, 

Carlos Kosiji, develops the second realistic factual option, and 

according to him, law is not the norm, but really the behavior of 

people and this not only of official persons, and other bodies but 

is of all ordinary subjects of law. He presents this type of distinct 

phenomena by proclaiming the following phenomena: IDEAL, 

NATURAL, CULTURAL and METAPHYSICAL.  

 

The law-the right Kaufman calls law, and according to this 

concept he says that people should debate about how fair it is, 

whether it is a good, fair law, and try to give the best in the 

perfection of the law. To understand law in a realistic 

relationship, there is another example, typical when law is 

attributed to human consciousness: 

 

Law + court + case = solution 

 

3. The Law 

So through the right (law), which has its own existence, in the 

strict sense that law is a normative phenomenon, while norm is a 

mandatory social rule for the behavior of people brought (or) 

sanctioned by the state, respectively e protected by the state 

apparatus. It means that the social rule for the behavior of people 

can also be created by the state, when it is brought by the 

competent state body, or the state to sanction certain social norm 

(moral, customary) that exists. The power and importance of the 

legal norm stems from the fact that it is protected by the state 

apparatus. This fact also distinguishes it from other social norms, 

respectively their implementation is not provided by the state. 

So in the formal-legal sense this different norm is also called law. 

Law is a lower legal act than the constitution, which regulates a 

general sphere of relations in a given society. 

 

Regardless of how the legal norm is expressed (law, bylaws, 

custom), it consists of three elements or constituent parts: 

Hypothesis, Disposition, and Sanction. 

 

The hypothesis is that part of the norm that provides: the 

circumstances in which the legal norm operates. It is a 

precondition, without the existence of which the legal norm is not 

implemented, does not apply. 

 

The disposition is that part of the norm that provides for the 

content of the rule of conduct itself. The sanction provides for a 

restrictive measure, in case of non-implementation of the norm. 

(Gurakuqi, 2009). 

 

4. The Court 

The court is a governmental institution, with the authority to 

adjudicate legal disputes between the parties and to administer 

justice in matters pursued formally and those with individual 

initiation. Courts treat all persons equally and no one can be 

discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, language, 

religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, 

connection with any community, property, economic, social 

status, sexual orientation, birth, disability or any other personal 

status (Law No. 06 / L-054 on the courts). This connection 

between the law and the court leads us to understand that initially 

human actions are provided by legal norms and they are 

sanctioned by law, before they go to trial, this also means a 

legitimate relationship of state authority, legitimizing his actions 

in restricting human freedom if it conflicts with existing laws or 

norms. 

 

5. The Case 

All those actions that violate the good of a person or the life of 

people in a certain society, and face legal norms, become the 

object of sanctions that the state has imposed on those who violate 

these legal rules, based on the fact these actions are sanctioned by 

the state and as such, are also provided by law.  So, the case is an 

interaction of the interpersonal subjectivity itself that affects, an 

action in society which action is illegal, or hits a legal good, and 

exactly the creation of a case, affects the Law + court when an 

action has caused the case or has violating the norms or laws in 

force, and fulfilling the responsibilities, will be ascertained with 



 

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the development of the procedures exercised by the institutions 

and the norms in force of the state. 

 

6. The Solution 

The settlement is an effective action and result, which comes as a 

result of an activity related by the court, for a certain issue that is 

now subject to review in the procedure, of a human action and 

ends with a formal legal action, written decision thing which 

fulfills the formula listed above: Law + court + case = solution.  

Law is driven by two main factors from the real world: the one 

(anthropological) factor and the social (sociological) factor. One 

is a free factor and a creative being who, by his actions, limits or 

impairs the actions of others. Being free in his actions, he decides 

according to his own motives what he will do, the motivation does 

not deny his freedom, but only puts him into action. 

 

Human freedom is a motivating condition for the existence of 

social norms, and even law for two reasons: First, man without 

norms would not know how to behave, the non-existence of these 

norms would reflect another reality in our society. Second, the 

free man would not take proper care of the general social interest, 

and would harm it with his own conduct, so that all social norms 

and even these legal ones are a kind of instruction on how man 

should act but at the same time, it is also a means of society to put 

pressure on me to act in the general interest (Lukiq, f. 76). Life 

practices and the very history of legal norms have often violated 

the will of a majority, but in most cases this violation of free will 

has been done with deliberate reasons to protect the basic and 

elementary values of human existence such as: internment from 

the state, punishment of family members, imprisonment in the 

insane asylum, or quarantine for infectious diseases. In these most 

flagrant cases of the disappearance of free will, you can no longer 

hold the human being accountable if it can be called that. Unlike 

Rousseau, Milli does not give much weight to social 

circumstances. The quality of free will in him means that "the 

will, unlike other phenomena, is not largely determined by the 

past, but dictates itself " (Ruso, 1998).  

 

Since we have managed to conceive of freedom and will as one 

of the essential elements of the norm, now we cannot avoid the 

ethical element which is reflected in almost every part of our 

lives, this expresses a way of socio-cultural awareness, which a 

society has for norms. To come to the notion of ethics, the 

prominent and lavish representative of this powerful current is 

Spinoza, who defines ethics as: A mental, and spiritual, individual 

and common exercise, and as such it cannot “read” but only to 

live. (Spinoza, 2015). This would affect a relationship between 

norm and consciousness, social where the observance of legal 

norms determines the level of social education, so the higher the 

human awareness, the lower is the violation of legal norms. As 

for the influence of human rights, it affects many directions, not 

only disciplining and socializing it, subjecting it to society, but 

also seeking to adapt to it. On the other hand we have the state 

that represents and constrains it, while on the other hand we have 

free society, based on its own consciousness. Conflicts of interest, 

and the separation of man from society, have been necessary to 

represent the state. 

 

So far we have discussed the positive law and its relationship with 

man, now we will see the right in the objective relationship, we 

encounter the first thoughts about the objective law since ancient 

Greece, this phenomenon has been developed by sophists started 

by Hippie, Antifooni, they have claimed that the violation of 

natural law is harmful, for the offender himself who cannot avoid 

the bad consequence, while the violator of the positive right can 

succeed in avoiding the self-created consequence. Natural law has 

its options, starting from the opinion that natural law is a kind of 

law of experience, or the right of God, because it is the true 

creator of nature, whether of man or human society. The most 

important feature of natural law is that it is rather the right of 

experience, (which means an object which has never been subject 

to the process of experience, such as God). From a political and 

legal point of view, it is the result of the struggle for positive law, 

as a political tool in the struggle for change in political relations 

in a society, and that the content of law varies, depending on the 

real social circumstances they use as a tool in political warfare 

(Lukiq, 2008a).  

 

We find views on natural law in Christian times in Toma 

Akvinsky, in his work "Suma of Theology", the right in the 

narrow sense, connects with man as one of the means by which 

God influences man to do good deeds. According to T. Akvinsky, 

there are four kinds of law: Eternal Law, the Law of Nature, the 

Human Law, and the Laws of God (Lukiq, 2008b). 

 

Eternal law is the law according to which the whole universe is 

governed, which only God knows, as the creator of everything in 

the world, because with the creation of the world he has also 

created its laws.  

 

The law of nature is the participation of the eternal law of mind-

reason, this law according to T. Akvinsky (1938) can be 

understood in two ways: either in the subject who measures it, 

and if the subject is regulated and proportioned, on the basis of 

that who participates in the rule of regulation or measure.  

 

According to T. Avinsky (1938), human law derives from natural 

law, if it is contrary to it, it is not a law, only a shadow of the law, 

an evil law, the law can be distinguished from the natural law by 



 

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two natures: first, the conclusions from its own principles, even 

as the closest definition of general notions. 

As well as the law of God, which is necessary because man has 

to fulfill in one way his supernatural purpose, the other world, the 

fulfillment of which is done by law, because man errs in his 

attitudes, so he needs strong support in the law of God (Lukiq, 

2008). 

 

All these laws in the past have been powerful tools that have 

regulated the way of life in most of the countries where the church 

has been an institution or a state in terms of the applicability of 

customary and written law. As for the conception of law by the 

Romans, they have made many definitions of law, one of the 

philosophers Celsions defines right, "ars boni et aequi" (as the art 

of good and law), so as can be seen that in the first period of its 

development, it had a religious character because it has been 

interpreted by ecclesiastical clergy.  

 

The Romans used the term "ius" to describe the totality of legal 

norms that applied to state-sanctioned social regulation. “Ius” 

therefore applied Roman law, in the objective sense as a system 

of norms, which regulated various human behaviors, while in the 

subjective sense, it consisted of two authorizations, or 

opportunities for the subject of law: 

 

 First, each entity personally performs certain actions 

to meet its interests in accordance with legal norms. 

 The second is to ask the obligated subjects to perform 

or not to perform a certain action. 

 Objective law is a necessary condition for subjective 

law, without which the latter cannot be applied 

(Kryeziu, 2017) . 

 

In addition to the term right to the Romans, the term “leges” or 

law was used, which meant laws and was distinguished from law, 

as it constituted a separate law, throughout the justice system. 

Also in the first period of development, the main role was played 

by legal rules of a religious nature, we should also mention the 

customs, which were unwritten rules that were gradually born in 

society generation after generation, in a relatively long time, and 

since cases of non-compliance with them caused social sanctions 

(Kryeziu, 2017). 

 

Law represents its existence from the very beginning of social 

organization, achieving its moderation and advancement since the 

twentieth century VII BC at that time the Roman state from a city 

of little importance, passed into a state, then into a very great 

persecution, creating and bringing about a revolution in terms of 

reform and the creation of a vital foundation for the system which 

today operates in the world, thanks to the Roman state. 

7. The Continuity of Law and Justice 

Right and justice, in everyday life each of us and that with full 

mouth expresses a good, righteous man, that justice is in the soul, 

these are stereotyped satributes, which every individual thinks 

from the aspect of consciousness. However, taking into account 

the complexity of the issue, jurists and most people from the 

ordinary world consider it a collection of norms that are 

sanctioned by the state through the democratic mechanism, the 

law has its own existence and is positive, because it is created 

through law, it also has its own brand, applying all these rights 

establishes justice or regularization in a given society. Law and 

justice live in a cohesion between each other, creating 

opportunities and another justice at a certain time. The law itself 

is what the authorities do in case of disagreement, and through 

this right it provides what the court will do in case of resolving a 

certain dispute.  

 

According to Socrates, it is necessary to discover the essence of 

justice and injustice, and at the same time to clarify what is the 

source of justice and injustice, and from this fact must be started 

and sought, the perfect paradigm or model, which includes states 

and people, in to the extent that they are right, it is not important 

that perfection be fully realized. It would be crucial to have 

something perfect, to measure real states, and people (Malnes & 

Midgaard, 2007). 

 

 Law is the primary norm that determines sanctions, which is 

created by human consciousness or we can call it a positive right. 

To go deeper into the subjective aspect, it is that the subjective 

right is a concrete right, which belongs to a certain person, as 

opposed to the objective right where, as we have already 

mentioned, it is a set of norms for the regulation of social 

relations, the implementation of which is provided through the 

implementation of the sanction. From all the above, the state has 

set norms that regulate how we should behave in society, 

restricting us and allowing us a right that is forbidden to another 

and allowed to us. As a right guaranteed by a positive right for 

every individual is the right to life, the right to property, and at 

the same time a justice is created that implies the will of the 

people, that everyone should be given what belongs to them. 

Natural law has a different approach to positive law, which we 

can call ideal, which is found in human nature as a rational being, 

it is a set of rules, which nature dictates to human reason.  

 

Violation of natural law is detrimental to the offender himself, 

who cannot avoid the consequences of evil, and in positive law 

he can succeed in avoiding the consequences. So, are we able to 

accept the basic principles of justice, according to Ulpian, by 

defining justice in three main pillars: to live with honor, not to 

harm the other, and to get what belongs to us? It is precisely these 



 

 73 

virtues that are part of a high interpersonal awareness, that by 

respecting these revisions we manage to avoid disagreements and 

norms as such would not have been violated. 

 

Justice is a troublesome feature not only for the individual but 

also for the states, from a common point of view it is something 

between the greatest good (that is, to do injustice without being 

punished), and the greatest evil (that is, to suffer injustice without 

revenge for it) (Malnes & Midgaard, 2007a). In this case, justice 

has been raised to the highest pedestal, which serves as an 

orientation for both the legislator and the judge, to use the 

instruments for the purpose of administering justice, which in this 

case constitutes the highest rank on the administration of justice. 

These elements as well as these principles must be used by 

everyone to be able to, if society believes in such a role, decide 

correctly and on the basis of moral and legal principles as well as 

divine principles and justice, if it can be called so with in order 

for law as a social element to be in coherence with justice. The 

embodiment of these two premises would certainly give a basic 

meaning to the notion of law and justice in general. 

 

8. Conclusion 

The reflection of the paper is a trend which reflects on a 

specification on law and justice, taking into account how broad 

and difficult the topic of law is. We have managed to highlight 

some of the features and concepts of many philosophers, and 

continuing with the intertwined thoughts of both the legal and 

sociological worlds, seeing the nuances and perceptions of factual 

theories with a wide range of elaboration and its interconnection 

with justice, as two virtues that have almost followed humanity, 

from the first beginnings of tribal creation and regulation, to the 

modern state. 

 

The topic in question has tried to refresh the thoughts on law and 

justice, as well as the continuity of these two issues in our society, 

in the scientific spirit and based on the literature document. 

 

In the first part of this paper we have analyzed what is right, the 

first thoughts on the foundation of this notion, as well as its 

existence as a necessity in regulating our social relations. In 

particular, we have managed to conceive that law and justice are 

in a constant coherence when one, according to the philosophical 

and formal-legal concept, creates norms, and the other gives 

justice at a certain time, and for each individual case. 

 

In conclusion, we can draw conclusions about the importance of 

the right where the most important part of our rights that we enjoy 

today are part of a legal system, otherwise called the norm, and 

the rest justice where both together they create a lasting peace in 

the relationship and complexity built and the regulation of 

relations in a given society. 

 

References 

1. Akvinský, T. (1938) Theologická summa I-II. 

Redigoval P.Emilián Soukup. Olomouc: Lidové 

závody tiskařské a nakladatelské. 

2. Gurakuqi. R. (2009) Introduction to Public Law. 

Camaj-Pipa-Tirana. p.64 

3. Kryeziu. K. (2011) Introduction to the Theory of Law. 

Pena- Prizren.  p.20 

4. Kryeziu. K. (2017) Roman Law. Pena - Prizren. p.17 

5. Lukiq. R. (2008) Philosophy of Law. Prishtina. p.36 

6. Malnes. O. & Midgaard. K. (2007) Political 

Philosophy. Prograf-Prishtina. p.25 

7. Osmani.I. (2004) The Beginnings of Law. Grafo Beni-

Botus Council of the University of Prishtina p.7 

8. Ruso. J. J.  (1998) Social Contract, Luarasi Publishing 

House. Tirana.  p. 21 

9. Spinoz.a B. (2015) Ethics. Point without surface -

Tirana.  p.328 

10. Law No. 06 / L-054 on the courts. Prishtina.. p.7. 

Available at: https://gzk.rks-

gov.net/ActDocumentDetail.aspx?ActID=18302 

https://gzk.rks-gov.net/ActDocumentDetail.aspx?ActID=18302
https://gzk.rks-gov.net/ActDocumentDetail.aspx?ActID=18302