The Concept of Justice and Its Appeal to Some Theories in Jurisprudence: An Overview

Abstract

The word justice is one of the most controversial concepts that is used by jurists, academics and legal writers to unravel thorny legal problems, yet it does not have made several attempts to narrow down the meaning to species for the purpose of arriving at a fairly acceptable definition but without success. The Latin word for justice is justice" which means contract and perpetual wish to give man his due. What becomes his due in an ever changing and fluid society in the midst of other contending variables becomes the central focus of this paper. In this regard, we shall attempt to do a review of its definitions and relevance to contemporary Nigeria using various theories of law in Jurisprudence to juxtapose on how relevant such theories will be in proffering solutions to socio-legal problem that has besieged Nigeria in recent times.