Why Justice Wears a Blindfold
Justice is fairness, and the system that delivers it. The blindfolded figure with scales carries three deliberate messages.
Justice means fair treatment, and also the machinery that provides it: courts, judges, law. The familiar statue explains the idea in three objects. The scales weigh the arguments, the sword shows that decisions are enforced, and the blindfold — added to the image in the sixteenth century — says the judge must not see who is standing before her.
- Fairness in treatment. *A sense of justice.*
- The legal system. *The criminal justice system.*
- A judge (title). *Justice Adeyemi delivered the ruling.*
- Bring to justice — make someone answer in court. *The suspects were brought to justice.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | justice | Natural justice. |
| Adjective | just | A just outcome. |
| Adverb | justly | Justly rewarded. |
| Opposite | injustice | A grave injustice. |
| Verb | do justice to | The photo does not do it justice. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done.A famous principle from an English ruling of 1924.
- The photograph does not do the view justice.Meaning it fails to represent it fairly.
- A justice of the peace heard the case.A lay magistrate in several legal systems.
Kinds of justice
- Distributive — how goods and burdens are shared out
- Retributive — punishment proportional to the offence
- Restorative — repairing harm between the parties
- Procedural — fairness of the process itself
- Natural justice — the right to a fair hearing by an unbiased decision-maker
From Latin *iustitia*, from *iustus*, just, from *ius*, law or right. The figure of Justitia comes from Roman art; the blindfold was a later addition, at first a satirical one.
Why the blindfold?
To show impartiality: the judge should not be influenced by who the parties are. It began as a satirical detail and became a virtue.
Justice or judge as a title?
In many systems, judges of the higher courts are styled Justice, while trial judges are simply Judge.