Meaning of justice (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Justice:

Justice is a set of essential values ​​on which a society and the State must be based. These values ​​are respect, equity, equality and freedom.

In a formal sense, justice is the set of codified norms that the State, through the competent organisms, dictates, enforces and sanctions when they are disrespected, suppressing the action or inaction that generated the affectation of the common good.

The word justice comes from the Latin iustitia which means "just", and derives from the word ius .

Types of justice

There are four approaches or ways to apply justice:

Distributive justice

It is based on the equitable distribution of wealth or resources, in such a way that all citizens are benefited.

It is a way of administering justice that comes from Aristotelian thought and whose application has been controversial in practice, given that there is no unanimity on the criteria that must be considered for such distribution to be of benefit to all involved.

For some authors, it must deprive equity (that each person obtain the wealth they deserve according to their effort). In other cases, the concept of equality prevails (all people must obtain the same amount), while other authors believe that wealth should be distributed more in cases of greater need.

Restorative justice

This type of justice focuses on the well-being of the victim rather than on the punishment of the victimizer. In this sense, what is sought is to repair materially or symbolically the damage caused.

According to this approach, victim and victimizer must be involved in the search for justice. To do this, the victimizer must understand and recognize the damage he has caused.

An example of restorative justice are the Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs , established in communities in the United States and Canada where the parties involved meet, talk about what happened and how it affected them., and agree on how to restore the damage caused.

Procedural justice

This type of justice establishes norms and rules that must be respected by all people equally, and establishes sanctions of various kinds in the event that citizens incur in fault.

To exercise this type of justice it is necessary to have an impartial criterion, while to be prosecuted by it the representation of an expert in the matter is required, that is, a lawyer.

The administration of procedural justice is carried out in the courts and in the bodies created by the State for this purpose.

Retributive justice

Retributive justice establishes that each person must be treated in the same way in which he treats others, therefore, when incurring a fault, he must be punished. What is expected of this type of justice is that the retroactive effect persuades other people to commit crimes.

An example of retributive justice would be human rights violations, in which although the perpetrators are not always punished immediately, they are eventually punished by local justice or by international organizations.

See also:

• Ius . Impunity.

social justice

The term "social justice" does not have a clear origin, but it is known that it began to be implemented in the 18th century in Europe to refer to the rules that had to be followed in order to maintain social order.

In this sense, part of the obligations of a monarch was to provide what would be the laws or rules that allow coexistence and their respective sanctions in case of being violated.

However, the term acquired new connotations at the end of the 19th century with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution, the consequent capitalism and the new economic and social dynamics. At that time, the British socialist movement would be in charge of adopting the concept to propose a balanced distribution of goods within a society, which is reminiscent of the Aristotelian vision of distributive justice.

In 1919, at the end of the First World War, the World Labor Organization incorporated this notion in the first article of its constitution, expressing that permanent peace is only possible if it is based on social justice.

While in 1931, the Catholic Church mentions the term for the first time in its Social Doctrine, used by Pope Pius XI, who expressed that social justice should be applied in such a way as to reduce the gap between the wealthy and the poorest.

On the other hand, in 2007 the United Nations Organization proclaimed February 20 of each year as World Day of Social Justice.

See also:

• Social justice. 6 examples of social justice that will make you smile.

Justice as a value

Justice as a value is the moral principle of each individual who decides to live, giving each person what belongs or belongs to him. Justice is part of the social, moral and democratic values, from there its importance derives.

Justice is a virtue that all individuals must put into practice in a coherent way and in search of both their own good and that of society.

What is expected is that each individual respects the established social norms and contributes to the maintenance of a harmonious environment. And in a situation of injustice, the ideal is for each person to act with rectitude and impartiality.

To achieve this, it is necessary that justice be a value instilled by the family, reinforced by educational institutions, respected and protected by the State and its institutions and put into practice by society.

See also

• Values. The 10 most important values ​​of society and their meanings.

divine justice

Divine justice is that which is applied by God, depending on the fulfillment of certain norms or doctrines. In Christianity, these rules are included in The Ten Commandments, a kind of decalogue in which the behavior guidelines that human beings must follow to lead a harmonious coexistence are dictated.

Failure to keep the commandments, from the Christian point of view, brings with it a divine sanction or punishment, while its fulfillment merits salvation and the protection of God.

The highest expression of divine justice is the Last Judgment, which refers to the event in which all human beings will be judged for the acts they have committed on Earth, and from where they will be sent to suffer eternal punishment or will be received in the heavenly kingdom, depending on their behavior.

For his part, in Hinduism divine justice is associated with the concept of karma, a law that is executed in every human being according to their actions. It is a kind of retributive justice in which each action has a consequence, so the ideal is to seek good action according to the principles of this religious doctrine, to avoid that the consequences are negative and affect the present or future life, represented in the concept of reincarnation.

Justice in philosophy

Throughout history, many philosophers have dealt with defining the concept of justice. Already from Ancient Greece, Plato said that the individual should come out of the darkness, from the cavern of ignorance, since the person becomes just in the same measure that he possesses knowledge.

In this sense, the individual with more knowledge may be fairer, which translates the idea that rulers must have extensive knowledge to know how to govern and to really do justice.

The philosopher Aristotle defined justice as giving each citizen what corresponds to him according to his needs and contributions in society, from which the principle of distributive justice started.

While for the enlightened philosopher Inmauel Kant, the justice of a State must watch over three fundamental principles: the freedom of individuals, the equality between them and the independence of each member of a community.

For his part, Hans Kelsen, Austrian jurist and philosopher of great relevance in the 20th century, indicated that justice is a natural right that prevails over positive law, since if it goes against the fundamental rights of the human being, it cannot be talk about justice.

See also natural law.

Symbol of justice

Justice is represented with a figure of a woman who is blindfolded, a scale in one hand and a sword in the other.

Blindfold highlights that justice does not look at people and is the same for everyone. The balance includes the judgment that will be determined by placing the arguments and evidence presented on each side of the balance. The sword expresses that justice will punish the guilty with a heavy hand.

See also Symbol of justice.