À l’heure du tout à l’image et du buzz sans suite, «l’express» souhaite faire découvrir la plume de poètes, de chanteurs, d’écrivains et de tous ceux qui jettent leur âme sur le papier, et qui mettent en mots des réflexions profondes.

There is something deeply human

about the law.

At first, it may appear to be nothing

more than statutes, precedents, principles

and procedures. But beneath all of its

technical language lies something far

more profound: people. People who have

been wronged, people seeking protection,

people defending themselves, people

demanding accountability, and people

hoping that somewhere within the system,

justice will hear them.

Perhaps that is why the law carries such

emotional weight.

To fight for justice is not always to stand

on the side that is strongest. Sometimes,

it means standing beside the person who

has been left with nothing but their truth

and the courage to pursue it.

The law does not promise that the person

who is right will always win. It does not

promise that institutions will never fail,

that power will never be abused, or that

justice will always arrive when

it is needed most.

But it provides something incredibly

important:

the right to challenge.

The right to question an exercise

of power.

The right to demand accountability.

The right to be heard.

The right to defend oneself.

The right to seek a remedy when

something has gone wrong.

And sometimes, when everything feels

hopeless, that right becomes

a form of hope.

There is a particular loneliness in

fighting against something far greater

than yourself. When the opposing side

has greater influence, greater resources

or simply more people standing behind

them, it can become tempting to believe

that the outcome has already

been decided.

But the law teaches us that power alone

should never determine justice.

The principle of the rule of law rests upon

the idea that authority is not absolute.

No institution should be beyond scrutiny

merely because it possesses power.

No individual should be deprived

of their rights simply because their voice

is weaker.

That principle may sound abstract

in a textbook.

But in real life, it can mean everything

to someone who feels unheard.

Perhaps this is where law and emotion meet.

A legal dispute may be reduced to issues,

facts and authorities on paper, but behind

those words may be someone’s fear,

dignity, livelihood, reputation or future.

A judgment may contain carefully

reasoned paragraphs, but for the person

waiting for it, those paragraphs may

represent years of uncertainty.

A legal argument may be intellectually

fascinating to a student, but to the person

whose life depends upon its success, it

may represent something

much more personal:

Hope.

And yet, emotion cannot replace law.

Justice requires discipline.

It requires evidence when emotions

demand assumptions.

It requires due process when society

demands immediate punishment.

It requires impartiality when anger

demands revenge.

It requires reason even when the facts are

deeply painful.

Perhaps that is one of the most difficult

and beautiful things about law: it asks

us to remain human without allowing

emotion to destroy fairness.

The courage to fight, therefore, is not

simply the courage to speak loudly.

It is the courage to remain standing when

nobody seems to believe you.

It is the courage to continue researching

when the answer seems impossible.

It is the courage to challenge a decision

that appears untouchable.

It is the courage to defend a principle even

when doing so is unpopular.

And sometimes, it is the courage to accept

that justice may take time.

Not every battle ends in victory.

Some arguments fail.

Some appeals are dismissed.

Some injustices cannot be completely

undone.

But losing does not necessarily make

the pursuit meaningless.

Sometimes, a legal challenge changes

the conversation.

Sometimes, it exposes a weakness

in the system.

Sometimes, it creates a precedent

for those who come after.

And sometimes, simply refusing to

remain silent becomes the first step

towards change.

That is why I think the law is ultimately

about more than winning.

It is about standing.

Standing for rights.

Standing for principle.

Standing for fairness.

Standing for someone who may not have

the strength to stand alone.

And perhaps most importantly, standing

when standing is difficult.

Because there will always be moments

when the world seems to have chosen

a side before the argument has even

been heard.

There will always be people who tell you

that nothing can be changed.

There will always be circumstances

that make surrender seem easier.

But justice has never been built by people

who only fought when the outcome

was certain.

It has been shaped by those who were

willing to question, challenge and

persevere.

So perhaps the greatest lesson the law can

teach is not that justice will always prevail.

It is that justice remains worth pursuing

even when it is difficult to see.

And when the odds are against you, when

the room feels empty, when your voice

feels small, and when giving up feels

easier than continuing,

perhaps that is precisely when conviction

matters most.

Because sometimes, the law cannot

promise you victory.

But it can give you something else.

A voice.

A remedy.

A right to be heard.

And sometimes, that is enough to begin

a fight that may eventually change

everything.

Bio

Thanya Meghna Canoo

This 22-year-old Law student is an internationally recognized young author who has published her first book.