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
