The Judiciary System of a Just Society
Elora Barbosa and Trudy Sharpe
Philosophy 102, Professor Genevieve LaForge
Introduction
Laws pertaining to crime and punishment
in a just society were created to protect the
people's rights under the social contract.
Biblical laws of the past have been modified
into the non-biblical laws we have today. Nonbiblical laws established under the social
contract theory had religious origins, but were
changed to ensure that they benefited everyone
without religious biases and/or prejudices. We
have explored which laws are more likely to last
and the ones that the future generation will just
read about in textbooks.
Central Outline
Social Contract Theory
All societies should have a single set of
rules.
Without a set system, all people do things for
themselves without consideration for others
Plato’s Republic
“Is justice sufficient for faring well?”
Whether or not one is known to be this kind of
person, or to do injustice or to be unjust, if one is
not brought to justice or becomes better by
punishment.
Biblical Laws
Non-Biblical Laws
Hammurabi code
Abolition of Slavery
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
Justinian Code
“Innocent until proven guilty”
no person shall be forced into hard labor for any
reason.
Utilitarianism
Discussion
•  Hammurabi Code
+Retribution
-No exceptions to the rule
•  Justinian Code
+Fair trial
-Lack of evidence can allow guilty to walk
free
•  Abolition of Slavery
+All people are treated equally
Greatest Happiness Principle
The idea that actions are right in proportion as they
tend to promote the greatest amount of happiness,
wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of
happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and
the absence of pain; by unhappiness [is intended]
pain, and the privation of pleasure."
Conclusions
Laws that protect the people's rights are hard to
achieve due to the fact that there will always be
a law that will exclude a group of individuals.
Future laws will constantly change as well
because societies and people are not perfect.
So the overall idea of a perfect society is a
metaphor of change which will never really end.
References
Annas, J. (1981) Introduction to Plato’s Republic. New
York, United States:
Huppes-Cluysenaer, L. ; Coelho, Nuno M. M. S. (2013)
Aristotle and the philosophy of law: theory, practice
and justice; New York :Springer, text, URL: http://
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&doc_number=008084297&year=&volume=&sub_lib
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Henderson, J. (2004) Remains of Old Latin III, Spring
Grove, Pennsylvania, Glatfelter. 424-516
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