Justice and equity are two different terms and to understand what makes them different, we must know and understand their multiple concepts.
Justice
The term justice comes from the Latin iustitĭa, a term that in turn comes from ius “right” which means fair.
Justice has a value determined by the community. It arose from the need to maintain harmony between its members. It is a set of guidelines and criteria established in an adequate framework to ensure relationships between people and institutions.
It has the power to authorize, prohibit, and allow actions in interactions between individuals and institutions.
These criteria or rules have a cultural base and in modern society, a formal base.
In the cultural aspect, there is a consensus of the individuals that make up society about what they consider good and bad and other aspects that must be taken into account in interpersonal relationships.
The formal aspect is about written provisions that are applied by judges and designated persons whose objective and purpose is to be impartial with respect to the members of society.
Justice is explained from various points of view such as:
- Moral.
- Philosophical.
- Religious.
- Right.
- Virtue.
Equity
The word equity comes from the Latin aequitas , which comes from aequus, whose meaning is “equal”.
It is a quality or disposition of encouragement that causes each person to offer others what they deserve without exceeding or diminishing it. It is related to justice since it also defines impartiality in the distribution of it.
It consists of treating everyone the same.
- Differences between justice and equity
- Justice is a moral and formal faculty that establishes equality in treatment between members of a community. Establishes norms and prohibitions in interpersonal relationships and behaviors.
- Fairness is a quality of mind that moves a person to treat everyone equally, to distribute equally to everyone.
