Article: Justice

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Lady Justice - allegory of Justice as woman with sword and with book - statue at court building.

For other uses, see Justice (disambiguation).

Justice (French justice from Latin justitia, from justus "just") is a concept involving the system of consequences which naturally derives from any action or choice. In this, it is similar to many laws of physics; a prominent example of one is the Third of Sir Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion, which states that for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Justice in some form or another affects all things in the universe; in the context of human actions, it means according individuals or groups what they actually deserve or merit, or are in some sense entitled to (classic Latin concept of unicuique suum). Justice is a particularly foundational concept within most systems of law, and draws highly upon established and well-regarded social traditions and values. From the perspective of pragmatism, it is the name for a fair result (thus, these views are not often representative of true justice, as justice and fairness are two entirely different topics).

In most cases what one regards as "just" (not necessarily meaning what is just) is determined by consulting established and agreeable principles, employing logic, or, natural law In certain systems justice is determined, by consulting a majority, or in social contexts where religion dominates, justice may be thought to require deference to religious texts or to spiritual guidance, under a monarchy or authoritarian state the ruler/s determined what was just and doled out justice. All of these determinants of justice have at times delivered particularlly dark periods of history where justice was seen to be absent.

If a person lives under a certain set of laws in a country, concepts of "justice" are often simply deferential to the existing law —the issuing of punitive reprimands for violations may be referred to as "serving justice." In principle, this fits the general concept in that the individuals get what is supposedly due to them.

Justice, however, is a universal and absolute concept; laws, principles, religion, etc., are merely attempts to codify the concept -- occasionally with results that entirely contradict the true nature of justice.

Codification

Nearly countless are the times in which a human has attempted to explain justice through writing; justice being a somewhat arbitrary object these accounts are varied and may or may not accurately represent true justice (in that it, like any aspect of reality, defies true verbal explanation). At bottom, after all, justice names an emotion; the one we feel when our expectations are confirmed. But there is no reason to presume our expectations are always correct or justifiable. The word "Justice" is therefore distinct from "Justifiable" inasmuch as what we feel to be justice is sometimes unjustifiable however strongly we feel that it ought to be. For the sake of convenience, the Declaration of Independence of the United States will be used as an example: Thomas Jefferson claims that all humans "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," and "that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Constitution of the United States elaborates further on these rights, and adds certain provisions for a government to protect against these and others, most notably the right to individual property. These four rights -- Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, and Property -- are the basis from which all other human rights derive; should they be respected or violated, a consequence, either positive or negative (respectively), will be inflicted upon the person performing the action.

Application and interpretation

Justice is a universal law, just like gravity or other various physical laws. These laws, to the best of humanity's knowledge, apply equally in all instances; thus, natural justice will not apply itself differently to different circumstances -- for any reason, even that of good intentions. Due to humanity's imperfect and often compassionate nature, human justice may differ slightly or drastically from natural justice.

One modern definition of justice is the equitable sharing of the costs and benefits to human activity. This definition is used, for example, by Institutional Review Boards in evaluating the ethics of research projects involving human subjects.

Classically, justice was the ability to recognize one's debts and pay them. It was a virtue that encompassed an unwillingness to lie or steal. It was the basis for the code duello. In this view, justice is the opposite of the vice of venality.

In jurisprudence, justice is the obligation that the legal system has toward the individual citizen and the society as a whole.

Justice, by Luca Giordano.

Justice (in both senses) is part of the debate regarding moral relativism and moral objectivism. The debate centers around this question: is there an "objective standard" of justice, under which all actions should be judged, or is it acceptable for justice to have different meanings in different societies? Some cultures, for instance, see punishments such as the death penalty as being appropriate, while others decry such acts as crimes against humanity. As mentioned before, justice is an absolute concept and applies universally.

The Scales of Justice

In some cases, justice is not equated with laws. For instance, laws that supported slavery are now known to be unjust, such as the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 in the United States. Also, many laws of illegitimate governments are considered unjust. Further, the social justice movement questions the morality of laws that protect property rights without adequate protection of the poor, especially those laws governing international trade.

One facet of justice holds that if a person or government initiates coercion (or the threat of it) then it is acting unjustly. Physical force may only be used in defense. As long as all persons and governments adhere to this standard, justice is being observed.

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Justice

• Prisoners' rights
• Court of law
• Criminal justice
• Ethics
• High, middle and low justice
• Individual rights
• Kohlberg's stages of moral development
• Morality
• Scales of justice
• Social control
• Social justice
• Virtue
• Civil rights
• Redistribution of wealth