Justice (original) (raw)

Justice is a concept involving the fair and moral treatment of all persons, especially as regards social rules. It is often seen as the continued effort to do what is "right".

Classically, justice was the ability to recognise 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 (in both senses) is part of the debate regarding moral relativism and moral absolutism: Is there an "absolute standard" of justice, under which all behavior 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, whilst others decry such acts as crimes against humanity.

See also: civil justice, court, criminal justice, ethics, individual rights, morality, social control, social justice, virtue

Justice is also the title used by the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. The court is composed of the Chief Justice of the United States, and eight Associate Justices.

Justice is the English name of the Greek goddess Themis, or the Roman goddess Justitia.

Justice is also the name of a place in the State if Illinois in the United States of America: see Justice, Illinois.