Name: Christian Bryden

Date: 14/01/2015
Lecturer: Mr. Duncan Whattley (Big Lice)
Subject: Caribbean Studies

The Impact of the Justice System as a Social

Institution on the Caribbean Society and Culture

Today, our Caribbean justice system has been based on the

norms of the society so they are suited to satisfy the majority of the
citizens based on their value system. The justice system
undoubtedly has an effect on each and every one of us as an
individual, social groups and other social institutions. Taking a step
back, it is first very important to understand what the justice system
is. The justice system can be referred to as the interactions between
the social institutions that are clearly identified with social control.
The perception held by an individual of the justice system may be
determined by the experience they have with the justice system
making it highly subjective and opinionated. In a wrap however, an
ideal justice system is mainly concerned with the maintenance of a
society where the individuals under its umbrella are to be treated
justly and fairly, in theory.
On the scale of an individual, the impact is dependent on an
initial condition: whether the individual follows statute laws or
customary laws. The use of customary law may be highly prevalent
in culturally plural societies. In most cases, the customary law acts
benignant to the individuals protecting the individuals rights to
perform religious custom, such as Rastafarians being granted the
permission to wear dreadlocks to school or Muslim women being
allowed to wear hijabs. However, the justice system can also be
exploited by some people due a biased legislation. The victims of
this are usually people who are impecunious. For instance, due to
the males traditional role as the breadwinner of the family, women
are able to exhort them for child support even when they are unable
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to pay resulting in jail time (Jeniffer Mohammed, 2007). This is the

justice system that can be seen in a negative light depending on the
eyes of the beholder.
Secondly, certain legislation may concern on a specific social
group depending on age, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Some
social groups are given special provisions and/or restrictions by laws
and conventions. These actions for protection are based on the
ideology of the justice system. One popular age restriction is that
individuals under 18 years of age are considered minors, under
somebodys responsibilities, and cannot vote or drive. The ideology
behind this is that the minors do not have enough experience to be
mature or responsible enough to make decisions about citizenship
and their own personal well-being. On the other scale of the age
range you have the compulsory retirement of the elderly (person 65
years and older). This is one form of the legal belittlement of the
elderly. Despite the expectation that the retirement would be wellsuited to give the less physically able a nice long rest, the idea is
actually centred on the need for jobs to be available for the young,
newly qualified person. In order for this to be done, an age limit has
to be placed on employment. However, the elderly may be mentally
stimulating to the businesses they work at and often times the
elderly do not wish to take retirement and long to cling on to any
reminder of their youth. The discrimination of the elderly is referred
to as ageism and is deeply rooted in the justice system as a social
institution. Thus, the justice system must to some remain unbiased
and stop discriminating to ensure the fairness that they claim to
strive towards.
Naturally, as family has evolved over time, the justice system
has become increasingly more intrinsic in family affairs. The
termination of a marriage which was once a customary or religious
act has now become a legal act called divorce. This situation get
more complicated if the relationship had produce children in which
the custody of the child is all decided in a legal matter in which the
court, not the parents, decide which parent is fit to care for the
children. This is a clear indicator of the newfound importance of the
justice system in the family as a social institution. Many domestic
crimes such as abuse, violence and harassment are valid claims for
justice in the court of law. As many Caribbean families are governed
by patriarchy, the justice system sees that the rights of women are
protected. This includes the manipulation of the Family Court by
females to get child custody and child support in unfair
circumstances. The justice system also has a great effect on LGBT
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families (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender). For instance, though

adoption and parenting are prohibited for LGBT families, they still
have the same domestic violence protections as a traditional family.
With the evidence presented, it is clear to see that the justice
system is playing a pivotal role in institutions.

Ultimately, the justice system has been shown in a true light,

identifying its benefits to Caribbean society and culture as well as
potential flaws in the ideology. However, the impact on society as a
whole was eluded due to the fact that it is clearly observable from
where the readership stands and has varying effects depending on
the type of society. From an individual to a group to an institution,
the justice systems impact is eminent.

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