Legal Foundations and Justice: Principles, Definitions, and Theories

Legitimacy of the State and the Definition of Law

The legitimacy of the state's action is to defend peace, values, and characteristics of democracies.

Understanding Law: Three Perspectives

Law can be understood in three ways:

1. Science: The study of law through its history, philosophy, and sociology.
2. Subjective Power: The effective power a member of society has to possess, make, or demand something, according to the laws and the legal system that protects them.
3. Objective: The set of laws and regulations governing the conduct of people and directing their lives in society.

Key Characteristics of Law

Law has the following characteristics:

1. Rationality: Law must have its foundation in reason, far from any arbitrary whim.
2. Freedom or Tolerance: For equal circumstances, it allows people to act with sufficient autonomy as they wish.
3. Reciprocity: If someone has a right, others should observe it, and vice versa.
4. Universality: Law should be equal for all members of the same community or society.
5. Publicity: Law is obligatory only if it has been duly adopted and made known.
6. Legitimate Authority: Its existence is established by legitimate authority.
7. Coercive Power: The capacity to impose penalties or punishments on those who break the laws. This coerciveness can range from fines to imprisonment.

Understanding Justice

Definition of Justice

The ultimate objective of law is the realization of justice. The word 'justice' can refer both to a social institution (judges and courts) and to a moral virtue (doing what is good and just). Justice occurs primarily as the measure that governs relations between citizens within society. Its symbol expresses a balance, an equilibrium, between the rights and duties of every person in society.

Ethical justice is the core of social, political, and economic life, and it is the axiological horizon to which any legal system should aspire. Justice must meet a number of characteristics:

1. Otherness: It must involve two or more persons.
2. Equality: It can only exist between two people, ensuring equality in the distribution of all essential social goods for a person's dignity.
3. Debt: One of the persons or institutions owes something to the other, and once the debt is paid or satisfied, the relationship of justice ends.

Theories of Justice

Aristotle's View on Justice

Aristotle points out that justice is to give every man according to the rightful law. He distinguishes several types of justice:

1. Commutative Justice: The word 'commutative' comes from the Latin 'conmutatio,' which means exchange.
2. Distributive Justice: Governs relations between the state and the citizen, consisting of the division of burdens, jobs, and benefits.
3. Social Justice: Governs the relationship of the individual with respect to society, aiming to achieve collective goals and good social relations.

Utilitarianism and Justice

The conception of justice presiding over a society is that which promotes the greatest happiness or satisfaction for the greatest number of people.