Justice versus Conscience

In an ideal world, justice systems would be flawless – dispensing fairness, honesty, and accountability without error. Yet, as countless cases show, the real world doesn’t reflect that ideal. The image of the justice system as “perfect” is nothing more than an illusion, or as the Dutch expression goes, “het aureool van volmaaktheid.“

The Post Office scandal is a prime example of how this halo can obscure the truth. For years, the justice system failed to protect innocent subpostmasters, allowing institutional failures and corporate denial to go unchallenged. By turning a blind eye to the system’s imperfections, lives were ruined, and trust was eroded.

We cannot afford to ignore these flaws. Instead, we must shine a light on them, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that justice is not just an ideal but a reality. True justice requires that we confront the uncomfortable truths about how systems operate and how they fail. Only by recognizing the cracks in the system can we begin to fix them.

The blueprint for change begins with honesty. It requires us to reject the notion that justice systems are perfect and to actively seek out the truth, no matter how difficult or inconvenient.