The concept of justice

Justice is a concept that has attracted the use of various terms by several philosophers in efforts to explain it. Based on the accounts of various philosophers, justice is a term that means equitable, fair, and suitable treatment depending on what is owed or due to individuals. Justice is an important concept in the criminal justice system and the modern society because it is applied in cases where people are owed burdens or benefits since their respective conditions are harmed by another individual's acts. The concept of justice has also been explained by various theories, which contain principles that are used in the application of justice.

Explanation of the Theory of Justice

The theory of justice is a concept that is centered on the enforcement of two essential principles of justice that would contribute to a just and morally upright society. John Rawls introduced the theory of justice as fairness through which principles are developed to govern a contemporary social order (Garrett, 2005). The theory of justice provides a framework with which the significance of individual liberties is explained with regards to equal opportunity and cooperative plans that provides benefits for all societal members. Basically, the theory of justice encourages people to consider the society as a fair system of collaboration between various members over time.

The Principles of Justice Theories

As previously mentioned, the theory of justice by John Rawls is centered on two essential principles of justice that are geared toward a just and morally upright society. The first principle in this theory of justice ensures the right of every individual to have the most extreme basic liberty that does not infringe on the liberty of other people. The second principle in this theory of justice is that economic and social positions should be open to every individual and to the advantage or benefit of everyone.

There are additional principles in other theories of justice that seek to link properties of individuals with morally justifiable and acceptable allocations of benefits and burdens. These theories of justice include utilitarian theories, libertarian theories, communitarian theories, and egalitarian theories. Utilitarian theories highlight the need to combine criteria in order to maximize public utility whereas libertarian theories stress individual rights to social and economic freedom that promote fair processes instead of substantive results. Communitarian theories state that the policies and practices of justice develop through customs and procedures in a community. Egalitarian theories highlight equal access to the goods in life that each rational individual values (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001, p.230). The principles of justice in these theories include the principle of utility, fair-opportunity principle, and the principle of individual liberties or freedom.

Difference of the Principles from Traditional Utilitarianism

Given the divergent emphasis of the theories of justice, these principles of justice differ from traditional utilitarianism. Traditional utilitarianism suggests that policies and actions should be examined on the basis of their benefits and costs they impose on the society. Therefore, utilitarians believe an action should be regarded as right if it generates the best possible or most suitable outcomes. This implies that traditional utilitarianism urges people to ensure that actions maximize overall pleasure and happiness.

With regards to justice, traditional utilitarianism considers justice as an issue of morality and determines it from an ethical perspective. This is relatively different from the principles in these theories of justice that present different perspective. Even though these principles emphasize the need for equitable, fair, and suitable treatment of everyone like traditional utilitarianism, they do not consider justice from an ethical point-of-view. Secondly, these principles are wider in scope and do not define or determine justice on the basis of ethics alone like traditional utilitarianism. Third, traditional utilitarianism focuses on how much utility is generated in a society and does not incorporate how utility is distributed among societal members, which is the focus of these principles.

Definition of Justice by Modern Criminal Justice Agencies

Justice in the modern criminal justice agencies and other entities involved in the criminal justice system has various meanings depending on the manner in which it is applied. These agencies and entities define this term as lawfulness, due process, fairness, judgment, penalty, and allocation of rewards or punishment. The varying definition of justice in the modern criminal justice agencies and entities in the justice system is based on the fact that it is applied in various fields that contribute to the emergence of varying perspectives. However, these agencies and entities base their definition of the concept or term on the basis of procedural justice in the application and study of law rather than the philosophical approach.