Definition of: justice

(jus′tis) noun
1. Conformity in conduct or practice to the principles of right or of positive law; regard for or fulfilment of obligations; rectitude; honesty.
2. The moral principle by which actions are determined as just or unjust.
3. Adherence to truth of fact; impartiality.
4. The rendering of what is due or merited; that which is due or merited; just requital or consideration.
5. The quality of being just or reasonable; rightness; equitableness.
6. A judge, as of the U.S. Supreme Court, etc.
7. Administration of law; the forms and processes by which it is made effective.
8. Right of authority; also, formerly, jurisdiction.
9. Theol. One of God's attributes, by virtue of which he wills equal laws and makes just awards.
10. Obs. Exactness or precision; justness.
—bed of justice The seat occupied by the French king when attending the deliberations of the parliament; also, the session itself.
—Department of Justice An executive department of the U. S. government (established in 1870) under the direction of the Attorney General: it supervises enforcement of Federal laws, directs the activities of U. S. judicial districts, and represents the government in legal matters generally. Also Justice Department. [<OF <L justitia <justus JUST] Synonyms: equity, fairness, faithfulness, honor, impartiality, integrity, justness, law, lawfulness, legality, propriety, rectitude, right, righteousness, rightfulness, truth, uprightness, virtue. In its governmental relations, justice is the giving to every person exactly what he deserves, not necessarily involving any consideration of what any other may deserve; equity (the quality of being equal) is giving every one as much advantage, privilege, or consideration as is given to any other; it is that which is equally right or just to all concerned; equity is a close synonym for fairness and impartiality, but it has a legal precision that those words have not. In legal proceedings, the system of equity, devised to supply the insufficiencies of law, deals with cases to which the law by reason of its universality cannot apply. Integrity, rectitude, right, righteousness, and virtue denote conformity of personal conduct to the moral law, and thus necessarily include justice, which is giving others that which is their due. Lawfulness is an ambiguous word, meaning in its narrower sense mere legality, which may be far from justice, but in its higher sense signifying accordance with the supreme law or right, and thus including perfect justice. Justness refers rather to logical relations than to practical matters; as, we speak of the justness of a statement or of a criticism. See JUDGE, VIRTUE. Antonyms: dishonesty, inequity, injustice, partiality, unfairness, unlawfulness, unreasonableness, untruth, wrong.