The term of Justice presents a recurring use in the Spanish language and depending on the contexts in which it is used, its references will vary, although, in general terms, justice will be that series of rules and norms that stipulate a satisfactory scenario regarding the relationships between individuals among themselves and between them and institutions. The aforementioned regulatory framework will accept, or, failing that, will prohibit actions in the aforementioned interactions. The obligation to maintain peace among the members of society is what marks the origin of justice.
It is worth noting that justice is a value that will always be determined by society and is closely linked to the times and civilization, that is, today, there is not the same conception of justice as ten centuries ago.
The figure of the goddess Themis armed with a sword in one hand, a balance in the other and blindfolded is the universal symbol of the idea of justice. This statue represents the personification of the concept we are analyzing. The balance expresses the idea of balance and order, the sword communicates the power of those who exercise justice and the blindfold reminds us of the idea of impartiality before the truth.
The idea of balance and justice
Since ancient times, human beings have considered that there is a cosmic order or universal law that governs all events and the lives of human beings.
When that order is broken, we say that something unfair has happened. Let's imagine that someone works and in return does not receive a salary. It is an unbalanced situation and, therefore, an action contrary to the idea of justice.
Regarding Catolic religion, justice is together with prudence, temperance and fortitude, one of the cardinal virtuesMeanwhile, the practice of it, that is, that individual who acts and behaves with justice will take care, when necessary, of give everyone what corresponds and belongs to him, always proceeding from equity and respect for the good of all. He will never privilege his personal situation over that of the rest, but quite the contrary, since he shows a special inclination to proceed according to the law.
Justice as an institution
We all have an idea of what is fair or not. If we consider that an action is unfair, we feel indignation. Courts of justice, laws and legal procedures have been created to combat any form of injustice within society. However, the idea of justice and the action of justice as an institution do not always coincide.
It designates, on the one hand, the punishment and its application, which are decided by a court or judge, and on the other, the resolution of someone's innocence, also granted by a judge or court of justice. "The family of the murdered policeman asked the court to do justice. Justice was served and my brother was released from guilt and charge".
Likewise, in the same field of law, it is synonymous with power of attorney ("Argentine justice determined Massera's guilt in crimes against humanity") and also allows you to designate the person or court in charge of ordering.
Different approaches
For some sophists, justice is nothing more than the convenience of the strongest. Instead, Plato defends a contrary thesis: for a community to have justice, it is necessary that in the human soul there is an ideal of justice.
For Aristotle, justice is the compendium of all the moral virtues. From the Christian point of view, justice consists of giving God and men what corresponds to them (for Santo Tomas, strength, prudence, temperance and justice are the fundamental moral virtues).
According to the vision of John Rawls, human beings have reached a kind of general agreement about what justice is. To build an initial ideal of justice we have to start from a position of total impartiality and without any type of prejudice. From this premise, justice is established with the combination of two elements: individual freedom and equality (this last aspect is in turn divided into two: equal opportunities and the fight against inequality).
On the idea that we analyze, there are numerous reflections that have been made. It is affirmed that there is no peace without justice, that indifference to justice makes us accomplices, that to be in favor of justice is to be in favor of truth, or that the appearance of justice is a form of tyranny.
