Justice is the quality of giving and receiving what is due. Justice also refers to actions that exhibit this quality and to people who administer laws . Western philosophers have struggled to define justice for hundreds of years. Various societies and groups have also sought to provide justice by developing their own legal traditions. Sometimes people argue that claims of justice are only a way for private interests to use unlawful power or force. Most people agree, however, that for justice to be done, each person or group must be treated appropriately or given what is right or deserved. All factors that apply to a particular situation must be taken into account. There is often disagreement, however, as to what kinds of factors should apply. Ideas of justice in various political groups and its importance to various cultures have changed over time.
The word justice became part of the English language during the Middle Ages (from about the 400’s to the 1400’s). It was taken from the Old French word justice, or justise, which itself stemmed from the Latin word justitia. Justice referred at first to the administration of law and to its proceedings. It also referred to persons responsible for administering the law. These persons included the judges of high courts. The judges of the Supreme Court of the United States , for example, are still called justices.
There are various general ideas about justice. Justice may be based on traditional practices or on the clear and definite agreement of community members. It may be associated with natural law, with moral obligation, or with what is useful for society. Natural law is the idea that a natural order exists in the universe, because all things are created by God, or by nature. According to natural law, all people have certain rights that cannot be taken away from them. All of these ideas of justice carry with them particular ways of thinking about legal institutions, entitlements, and practices.
In criminal law, for instance, justice refers to the proper punishment of offenders. If one associates justice with natural law or with morality, the purpose of punishment is retributive justice. Retributive justice suggests that someone who breaks a law deserves a punishment equal to the wrongfulness of the act. If, on the other hand, one associates justice with the improvement of society, then the purpose of punishment is deterrence. Deterrence aims to prevent the criminal and others considering the crime from committing it in the future. According to this view, the “pain” of punishment should be only enough to outweigh the benefit or “pleasure” of committing the crime .
Distributive justice concerns the division and possession of goods, services, and status among members of society. In addition to the idea that all people are equal, such issues as need, merit, or inheritance may be important factors for entitlement to resources. Procedural justice refers to the fairness of processes of distribution of goods and dispensation of punishments in individual cases.
As societies change, so, too, do their laws and sense of justice. United States laws, for example, once supported racial segregation (separation according to race ). Today, even if each race is treated equally, that idea is no longer considered just.
