What is Justice? It is a way of administering justice that originates from Aristotelian thought and whose application has been controversial in practice, since there is no unanimity regarding the criteria that should be considered for such distribution to be beneficial to all parties involved.
For some authors, it should promote equity (each person obtaining the wealth that corresponds to them according to their effort). In other cases, the concept of equality prevails (all people should receive the same amount), while other authors believe that wealth should be better distributed in cases of greater need.
Restorative Justice This type of justice focuses on the well-being of the victim rather than on punishing the offender. In this sense, the goal is to repair the harm caused, either materially or symbolically.
According to this approach, both the victim and the offender must participate in the pursuit of justice. For this to happen, the offender must understand and acknowledge the harm they have caused.
An example of restorative justice is the Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs established in communities in the United States and Canada, where the parties involved meet, discuss what happened and how it affected them, and agree on a way to repair the harm caused.
Procedural Justice This type of justice establishes norms and rules that must be respected equally by all people, and it sets out various sanctions in cases where citizens commit an offense.
To exercise this type of justice, impartial criteria are necessary, while being subject to it requires representation by an expert in the field, that is, a lawyer.
The administration of procedural justice takes place in courts and in institutions created by the State for that purpose.
Retributive Justice Retributive justice establishes that each person should be treated in the same way they treat others; therefore, when committing an offense, they must be punished. The expectation of this type of justice is that the retroactive effect will deter others from committing crimes.
An example of retributive justice would be human rights violations, in which, although perpetrators do not always receive immediate punishment, they are eventually punished by local justice systems or by international organizations.
