Ethics and Justice

Justice is a moral virtue which comes as

a fruit of the constant and proper
observance of rights and duties.
Nominally, justice is defined as the
constant will and disposition to give
each one his due. It is properly defined
as the principle of rectitude and fairness
in mens relations with each others.
Injustice, its opposite, is the violation of
the rights of another or others.

Universality

It is an element of justice which

requires that justice be applied to all,
and not merely to a particular group or
class and that everyone is bound to
give to everyone what is his due.

Equality

It is a fundamental principle of justice

which demands that justice is for all
regardless of station or quality in life. It
signifies that the law must be applies
to all without discrimination.

All legal maxims or principles, all laws,

either human or divine are reducible to
this universal principle of justice. For
instance, the ten commandments are
specifications particularization, or
applications of the principle of justice
as may be seen easily from the
following considerations.

1. The first commandment- love God above all, is a

dictate of plain justice. For God is our Lord, Creator
and All, and to love Him fully is to give Him His due.

2. Respect and love parents is likewise a precept of

justice and the golden rule: We obey and love our
parents obviously because by our natural relation
and dependence on them they deserve our respect
and love. Likewise, we ourselves like our children to
do the same with us later on.

3. Killing, lying, stealing, bearing false witness,

adultery are violations of the rule of justice never to
do any harm to anyone whether it be against his
life, his things, his reputation, his family, his bodily
integrity.

General Applications

The three principle of justice does not only

govern the relation between an individual with
another. It also applies to
1. Duties to the state to the citizen (distributive)

2. Duties of the individual to the state (legal

justice)

3. Duties of an individual to another

(commutative justice)

Distributive Justice

The state must fulfill certain duties

toward its citizens. These duties are
clearly stated in our Constitution.

Legal Justice

The citizen in turn has his duties to the

state for instance to render military
service to the state

Commutative Justice

Every individual should render to

another that which belongs to him. The
basis of this is the so-called mutuality
of rights and duties.