Key Takeaways

  • Just means ethically, morally, and legally correct, aligning with law and fairness.
  • Justice is the consistent will to give each person their due, closely tied to virtue and law.
  • Justice can be divided into distributive (allocating rewards/punishments proportionately) and commutative (ensuring fairness in exchanges and contracts).
  • Procedural justice emphasizes fairness in legal processes, such as trials and due process.
  • Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm between offenders and victims through accountability and reconciliation.
  • Social justice addresses fairness in access to resources, rights, and opportunities within society.
  • The concept of just justice combines fairness in individual dealings with broader societal equity, linking morality, law, and human rights.

Just

Ethically, morally & legally correct. This epithet is applied to that which agrees with a given law which is the test of right and wrong. It is that which accords with the perfect rights of others. By just is also understood full and perfect, as a just weight.

Justice

The constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due. Toullier defines it to be the conformity of our actions and our will to the law. In the most extensive sense of the word, it differs little from virtue, for it includes within itself the whole circle of virtues. Yet the common distinction between them is that that which considered positively and in itself is called virtue, when considered relatively and with respect to others has the name of justice. But justice, being in itself a part of virtue, is confined to things simply good or evil and consists in a man's taking such a proportion of them as he ought.

Social Justice

Social justice extends beyond individual fairness to consider equity in broader societal structures. It emphasizes equal access to resources, opportunities, and rights regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or other factors. In the legal context, social justice inspires reforms in civil rights, labor protections, and housing equality. The concept of just justice in this sense links law to morality, requiring that legal systems actively work to remove systemic inequities.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm caused by wrongdoing rather than solely punishing the offender. It often involves dialogue between victims, offenders, and sometimes the community to acknowledge harm, promote accountability, and work toward healing. This approach is increasingly applied in criminal law, schools, and community conflicts. For instance, instead of incarceration, an offender may participate in a mediated meeting with the victim and agree to restitution or service that directly addresses the harm done.

Procedural Justice

Procedural justice refers to fairness in the processes and methods used to resolve disputes and enforce laws. It is not only about the outcome but also about whether individuals believe they were treated impartially, heard fully, and respected throughout the process. Courts, arbitration panels, and administrative hearings emphasize procedural fairness by ensuring due process rights, equal application of rules, and transparency. For example, a trial may result in an unfavorable outcome for one party, but if the procedures were fair, the legitimacy of the outcome is more likely to be accepted.

Distributive Justice

Justice is either distributive or commutative. Distributive justice is that virtue whose object is to distribute rewards and punishments to each one according to his merits, observing a just proportion by comparing one person or fact with another so that neither equal persons have unequal things, nor unequal persons things equal.

Commutative Justice

Commutative justice is that virtue whose object it is to render to every one what belongs to him, as nearly as may be, or that which governs contracts. To render commutative justice, the judge must make an equality between the parties, that no one may be a gainer by another's loss.

Toullier exposes the want of utility and exactness in this division of distributive and commutative justice, adopted in the compendium or abridgments of the ancient doctors, and prefers the division of internal and external justice; the first being a conformity of our will, and the latter a conformity of our actions to the law: their union making perfect justice. Exterior justice is the object of jurisprudence; interior justice is the object of morality.

According to the Frederician code, justice consists simply in letting every one enjoy the rights which he has acquired in virtue of the laws. And as this definition includes all the other rules of right, there is properly but one single general rule of right, namely, Give every one his own.

Internal and External Justice

Legal scholars often distinguish between internal justice—conformity of one’s will with moral law—and external justice—conformity of outward actions with legal standards. Internal justice relates more to personal virtue, while external justice is the concern of jurisprudence and courts. The combination of these two dimensions leads to what some call “perfect justice,” integrating both moral integrity and lawful conduct.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What does “just” mean in legal terms?
    In law, “just” refers to actions or decisions that are ethically, morally, and legally correct, aligning with fairness and the rights of others.
  2. How does distributive justice differ from commutative justice?
    Distributive justice concerns the fair allocation of rewards or burdens, while commutative justice ensures fairness in exchanges, contracts, and obligations between individuals.
  3. What is the importance of procedural justice?
    Procedural justice ensures that legal processes are impartial, transparent, and respectful, which strengthens public trust in outcomes even if they are unfavorable.
  4. How is restorative justice different from traditional punishment?
    Restorative justice emphasizes healing, accountability, and reconciliation, whereas traditional punishment focuses primarily on retribution or deterrence.
  5. What does “just justice” mean?
    The phrase “just justice” highlights the idea that true justice must be fair in both process and outcome, balancing individual rights with broader social equity.

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