Law And Justice Flashcards
Define justice
Quality of being just (Oxford dictionary), aligned with ideas of fairness/morality
What is justice depicted through in the English system
Lady justice- promotes equality before the law
What other contexts is justice also refereed to in
- royal courts of justice
- justice of the peace
What are the 2 things Aristotle splits justice into
Distributive and corrective justice
Explain distributive justice
It’s essential to how societies recources are distributed
Explain corrective justice
Focuses on a distributed equilibrium and how it is corrected or balanced, can be seen in sentencing and the award of damages
Explain damages with its links to corrective justice and use a case
Damages under the law of contract aim to put the C in the position they would have been in if the contract had been performed, to correct any losses caused by the D (Hadley v baxendale)
Explain utilitarianism
Focuses on the maxim (the greater good for the greater number)/the maximisation of total welfare
Says pleasure/happiness are intrinsically valuable, pain/suffering are intrinsically un-valuable
Who was the theory of utilitarianism developed by
Bentham and mill
What case was utilitarianism seen in
R v brown- defence of consent was denied in relation to Sado-masochistic activity as it offended the majority of the population, rights of population were respected rather than allowing the smaller number to engage in fully consensual activity
Explain substantive justice/natural law
Whether the law is just, natural theorists- Thomas Aquinas says there are higher principles by which we should judge the law
Why does a good Christian obey laws
Without laws, society wouldn’t be possible
When should laws be rejected
If the laws contradict/directly oppose the laws of a higher standard (an unjust law is no law at all)
Where does the foundation of these higher standards come from
The bible- 10 commandments
Explain murder in relation to substantive justice
Murder as seen in r v Gibbins and proctor highlights the concept of thou shall not kill
Explain theft in relation to substantive justice
Theft as contained in the theft act 1968 highlights the concept of thou shall not steal
Name 2 cases for substantive justice/natural law
R v Dudley
Donoghue v Stephenson
Whats the problem with substantive justice
It’s very hard to define what the principles are
