Justice in the 21st Century

Justice is the central element of any legal system. It is a highly sophisticated mechanism, and the way justice is administered, on what basis, for what values, for what aims, and to what ends all have a direct bearing on public trust in the legal system and the state as a whole. Traditionally, changes in substantive law were not always accompanied by the transformation of procedural institutions. Legal doctrine and practice both proceeded from the belief that a universal procedural form can be applied to almost any substantive legal issue. Is that the case now? Can – and should – we keep observing the principles of legal proceedings at any cost, considering that we are in the midst of an era of global uncertainty, rampant growth, increasingly complex legal conflicts, and the development of new digital technologies? Has the very nature of justice changed in the 21st century? By posing these questions in relation to civil, criminal, arbitration, constitutional and even international processes today, it becomes possible to conceptualize the status quo and make predictions about the further development of justice.