Understanding Justice: Definition, Types, and Meaning
JUSTICE
Justice is the ultimate value of law and is considered one of its traditional ends. Remember that “law” comes from the Latin *directum* (straight, right), but the concept of justice has been a problem for lawyers and philosophers since ancient times. Among the different concepts identified for the term “justice”:
- Confucius pointed out that justice is giving each individual what is due, with no disadvantage to one or the other.
- For Aristotle, Justice is a moral virtue.
- For Justinian and Ulpian, justice is the constant and perpetual will to give each his own.
The most important definition is that of St. Thomas Aquinas, which we will analyze briefly. St. Thomas says it is a habit, that is, a good act. This act, to establish justice, must be done on a voluntary and steady basis. The concept of holy acts can only involve just human beings. They should be made with perpetual and constant will; that is, these good deeds must be done always, in a firm and persevering way. St. Thomas adds that the will to act justly means that the act can be done in a positive or negative way: either performing a just act or abstaining from doing any act that harms another person. The first is a positive act, and the second is a negative act. Because, in the end, justice is giving to others; it is a behavior that is *for* others. “Giving to each his own” does not mean that justice is the same for all, but instead gives each person his due according to his inviolable moral faculties.
Sense of Justice
- Subjective sense: We are referring to a personal virtue. (e.g., “The law professor is just.”).
- Objective sense: It is a virtue towards others. In this case, we are referring to justice as a quality practiced and expected of certain rules, institutions, and social structures within which the law figures. Objectivist justice *is* law because the law always has to create the conditions, or set of conditions, that each person tends to get what he deserves; that is, it proposes the common good.
Classifications of Justice
Types of Justice
- Commutative Justice: Ensures respect for the equivalence of reciprocal benefits, guaranteeing to each one what he is due in an equal, arithmetic way (e.g., a sales contract). Commutative justice is often discussed in relation to contractual acts because what I give must be equivalent to what I receive, and this is measured arithmetically.
- Legal or General Justice: Requires people to cooperate in the progress and welfare of the community where they live. Each person must comply with what the state imposes for the common good and enact laws to do so.
- Distributive Justice: Intends to distribute to members of a society the benefits and burdens according to their merits and needs. Distributive justice in mediation is geometric, meaning that each person has a different burden according to their abilities or needs.
- Social Justice: Added by most modern authors, it is a mixture of the above, as it may have characteristics of one or another of those mentioned. Social justice aims to achieve a more equitable distribution of property and income, a more humane regulation of the relationship between capital and labor. Ultimately, social justice seeks equal treatment of people according to their human dignity and not the position they have in society.