| A law student at the
beginning of his studies should know from where "ius" comes. Its name
is taken from justice. For, in the elegant words of Celsus, "ius" is
the art of the good and the equitable. Consequently we jurists are
called priests because we cultivate justice, and we seek knowledge of
the good and the equitable. We mark the difference between equitable
and inequitable and determine what is licit and not licit. Iuri operam daturum prius nosse oportet,
unde nomen iuris descendat. est autem a iustitia appellatum: nam, ut
eleganter Celsus definit, ius est ars boni et aequi. Cuius merito quis nos
sacerdotes appellet: iustitiam namque colimus et boni et aequi notitiam
profitemur, aequum ab iniquo separantes, licitum ab illicito discernentes.
Justinian, Digest
1.1.1.1 (533 A.D.) Ulpian on the First Book of the Institutes
(ca. 230 A.D.) |
Ambrogio Lorenzetti,
Bad Government, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, 1340 A.D. |
| The
human race is ruled by two
things, namely natural law and custom. Natural law is what is
contained in the law and the Gospel. By it each person is commanded to
do to others what he wants done to himself and prohibited from inflicting on
others what he does not want done to himself. So Christ said in the
Gospel: "Whatever you want men to do to you, do so to them (Matthew 7:12)."
Humanum genus duobus regitur, naturali
uidelicet iure et moribus. Ius naturae est, quod in lege et euangelio
continetur, quo quisque iubetur alii facere, quod sibi uult fieri, et
prohibetur alii inferre, quod sibi nolit fieri. Unde Christus in euangelio:
"Omnia quecunque uultis ut faciant uobis homines, et uos eadem facite illis."
Gratian, Prologue to his Decretum, ca. 1135. Pacem in terris |
Justice is the
constant and perpetual will to render to every man his due. Jurisprudence is
the knowledge of divine and human affairs and knowledge of what is just and
what is unjust. Iustitia est constans et
perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuens. Iuris prudentia est
divinarum atque humanarum rerum notitia, iusti atque iniusti scientia.
Justinian, Institutes 1.1 (533 A.D.)
What is justice but a tacit covenant of
nature established for the aid of many. Justice is not based on our
statute but is a part of divine law and the bond of human society.
Quid est iustitia, nisi naturae tacita
conventio, in adiutorium multorum inventa. Iustitia non nostra constitutio,
sed divina lex est, vinculum societatis humanae.
St. Martin of Braga, Formula
honestae vitae (ca. 550 A.D.) |
|
The Dying Barbarian,
Greek, 2nd Century BC, Rome, Capitoline Museum |
La Calunnia
by Sandro Botticelli (ca. 1497) |
| Justice is the conformity
of our actions and our will to the law. Charles Bonaventure
Marie Toullier (1752-1835) Le droit civil français suivant l'ordre
du code. |
Justice:
Proper administration of the laws. In jurisprudence the constant and
perpetual disposition of legal matters or disputes to render to every man
his due. Black's Law Dictionary (6th edition, 1990) |
| Distributive Justice
The obligations of the community to the
individual
|
Commutative Justice
Obligations between persons that
requires equality in all dealings between two persons.
|