DEFINING JUSTICE................... ( A short article by Professor Hu Chi Ku Chi )

Justice has many components but some are more important than others. Aristotle , one of the greatest philosophers of all time , believed that the key element of justice is treating like cases alike. This idea however set later thinkers the problem of working out which similarities were most relevant. For Aristotle a parking offence warrants the same £50 fine, whoever the offender might be . Even if the offence was committed by someone for a second or third time , the fine should be the same. The whole notion of eventually hanging someone for a repeated offence would be a totally disproportionate punishment in relation to such a petty crime.
Similarly , Aristotle remarked that it is unjust to treat unequal things equally. Punishment and reward have to be in proportion to the offence committed or the act undertaken. Therefore , it would be totally wrong for a committee to impose a life ban on a member for an act which by any stretch of the imagination could only be defined or established as petty. Even if this petty misdemeanour was one of several complained about over the years, should that person's previous history now elevate it this latest incident into one of gross misconduct ? No, it should not , in that a parking offence still remains a parking offence , and not one which suddenly equates to murder. Moreover , if a person has been punished once for a crime it would be unjust to include that crime again in determining a more severe punishment for a similar offence.     
In work related situations , however ,  the law sees fit to regard repeated petty acts of misconduct , in spite of numerous oral and written warnings , as solid grounds for establishing gross misconduct, for which the dismissal becomes a justified option. But the situation here is fundamentally different in that every previous incident of petty misconduct complained of ,  no punishment had been handed out at all . The process here is to consider the whole episode of misconduct in just one single hearing to arrive at a fair and proportional punishment. 
On a final note, does justice permit mercy and magnanimity ? In my opinion , yes. Where wrongs were committed unintentionally , or with innocent intent , leniency should be applied. Moreover,  only he who is without sin should cast the first stone. No one should be judged against standards the rest of us fail to achieve. Justice and hypocrisy should never be allowed to walk hand-in-hand.