HK Central Statue Square Legislative Council Building n Themis s

Lady Justice () is an allegorical

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the personification of Justice in ancient Roman art known as ''Iustitia'' or ''Justitia'', who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Themis.

The goddess Justitia

The origin of Lady Justice was Justitia (or Iustitia), the goddess of

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

within

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

. Justitia was introduced by emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, and was thus not a very old deity in the Roman pantheon. Justice was one of the virtues celebrated by emperor

in his , and a temple of Justitia was established in Rome by emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. Justitia became a symbol for the virtue of justice with which every emperor wished to associate his regime; emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

minted coins with the image of the goddess seated on a throne called ''Iustitia Augusta'', and many emperors after him used the image of the goddess to proclaim themselves protectors of justice. Though formally called a goddess with her own temple and cult shrine in Rome, it appears that she was from the onset viewed more as an artistic symbolic personification rather than as an actual deity with religious significance.

Depiction

The personification of justice balancing the

dates back to the goddess Maat, and later

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, of

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later goddesses of justice. Themis was the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom, in her aspect as the personification of the divine rightness of law.

Scales

Lady Justice is often depicted with a set of scales, typically suspended from one hand, upon which she balances the relative substance and value (i.e. the 'weight') of the available evidence and arguments on both sides of any bilateral dispute. The scales can therefore 'tip in favour' of either side, and justice, in terms of the metaphor, can be enacted upon seeing the result. The Greek goddess Dike is depicted holding a set of scales:

Blindfold

Since the 16th century, Lady Justice has often been depicted wearing a blindfold. The blindfold was originally a satirical addition intended to show Justice as blind to the injustice carried on before her, but it has been reinterpreted over time and is now understood to represent

impartiality Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the mo ...

, the ideal that justice should be applied without regard to wealth, power, or other status. The earliest Roman coins depicted Justitia with the sword in one hand and the scale in the other, but with her eyes uncovered. Justitia was only commonly represented as "blind" since the middle of the 16th century. The first known representation of blind Justice is Hans Gieng's 1543 statue on the '' Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen'' (Fountain of Justice) in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Instead of using the Janus approach, many sculptures simply leave out the blindfold altogether. For example, atop the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

courthouse in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a statue of Lady Justice stands without a blindfold; the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant. Another variation is to depict a blindfolded Lady Justice as a human scale, weighing competing claims in each hand. An example of this can be seen at the Shelby County Courthouse in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. In October 2024, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

announced a new template for statues of Lady Justice for use in India. Henceforth, the blindfold will not be used and the sword is replaced by a book representing the constitution. Announcing the change, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud declared that "the law is not blind, it sees everyone equally".

Sword

The sword represented authority in ancient times, and conveys the idea that justice can be swift and final. In India, as noted above, the sword is replaced by a book representing the constitution.

Toga

The Greco-Roman garment symbolizes the status of the philosophical attitude that embodies justice.

In computer systems

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

version 4.1.0 implemented a scales symbol at

code point A code point, codepoint or code position is a particular position in a Table (database), table, where the position has been assigned a meaning. The table may be one dimensional (a column), two dimensional (like cells in a spreadsheet), three dime ...

U+2696, that may be used to represent the scales of justice.

In art

Sculpture

File:Berner Iustitia.jpg, Lady Justice with sword, scales and blindfold on the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen in

, Switzerland, 1543 File:Pediment courthouse, Rome, Italy.jpg, Lady Justice seated at the entrance of The Palace of Justice, Rome, Italy File:Frankfurt Am Main-Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen-Detail-Justitia von Westen-20110408.jpg, Sculpture of Lady Justice on the ' in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany File:Delft 137 (cropped).jpg, ''Justitia'' on the Delft City Hall, the Netherlands File:Justicia Ottawa.jpg, ''Justitia'', outside the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada File:Statue of Justice, Central Criminal Court, London, UK - 20030311.jpg, The Central Criminal Court or

, UK File:Itojyuku themis.jpg, Themis, Itojyuku, Shibuya-ku, Japan File:Justice statue.jpg, 19th-century sculpture of the ''Power of Law'' at

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

, Czech Republic—lacks the blindfold and scales of Justice, replacing the latter with a book File:Goddess of justice.jpg, Themis, outside the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia File:Fronton oud gerechtsgebouw, Gent.jpg, Themis, Old courthouse,

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, Belgium File:Justice Statue Iran.jpg, ''Justitia'', Tehran courthouse,

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran File:Campinas, detalhe do Palácio da Justiça.jpg, ''Justiça'', high-relief in front of Justice Palace,

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

, Brazil File:Carl Spitzweg - Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia) - 1857.jpg, '' Justitia'', Carl Spitzweg, 1857 File:Rīga 05 (cropped).jpg, Lady Justice on the Riga Town Hall, Latvia File:Law place du Palais-Bourbon Paris.jpg, ''The Law'', by Jean Feuchère,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France File:JMR-Memphis1.jpg, Lady Justice at the Shelby County Courthouse in

File:A Justica Alfredo Ceschiatti Brasilia Brasil.jpg, ''The Justice'', in front of the Supreme Court of Brazil File:Justitia szobra a Kúria épületében.jpg, ''Justitia'' in the Superior Courts Building in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary File:Statue of Justice.jpg, Lady Justice in Bauchi State High Court, Nigeria File:Statue of Justice, Bangladesh.png, Statue of Lady Justice at the premises of the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division and the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division, ...

Painting

File:Sala di costantino, giustizia.jpg, Fresco in the , Raphael Rooms,

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, File:Luca Giordano 013.jpg, Luca Giordano, Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, 1684–1686 File:Gerechtigkeit-1537.jpg, ''Gerechtigkeit'',

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

, 1537

Heraldry

Lady Justice and her symbols are used in heraldry, especially in the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

and seals of legal government agencies. DEU Ilshofen COA.svg, Justitia in arms of Ilshofen in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Svea hovrätt vapen.svg, Scales and sword in the arms of a Swedish court of law Hörby kommunvapen - Riksarkivet Sverige.png, Scales balanced on a sword in the arms of Hörby Landskrona fulla vapen.svg, Prudentia and Justitia as supporters in the armorial achievement of Landskrona File:US-Fractional (3rd Issue)-$0.50-Fr.1355.jpg, Justice holding scales, $0.50 U.S. fractional currency

References

External links

DOJ Seal - History and Motto
() {{DEFAULTSORT:Justice Heraldic charges Justice goddesses Justice deities Personifications in Roman mythology Roman goddesses

The goddess Justitia

Depiction

Scales

Blindfold

Sword

Toga

In computer systems

In art

Sculpture

Painting

Heraldry

See also

Goddesses of Justice and related concepts

Astronomy

Notable programs

In fiction

In popular culture

References

External links