Procedural justice : allocating to individuals

Issues of procedural justice pervade society from allocating student grades to imposing professional discipline, from determining eligibility for government benefits to merit salary increases in private employment. No matter the substantive standards or norms for such decisions, the procedures used can be just or unjust and can affect outcomes in an important way. Philosophers, however, have neglected procedural justice. This book is the first philosophical examination of the justice of procedures for the allocation of burdens and benefits to individuals.

Part I draws on administrative and common law to develop traditional principles. It examines principles of impartiality, opportunity to be heard, the grounds for decisions. and the formal justice of consistency, adherence to precedent, and conformity to rules. Part II presents a theory of procedural justice. It develops a fundamental norm for evaluating procedures, criteria for the legal requirement of procedures, and criteria for the use of decision-making models with different procedural principles.

Part III then applies the theory to professional discipline and employment decisions. Procedural Justice will interest philosophers concerned with law or ethics. It will also appeal to scholars with a theoretical interest in administrative law. The issues it addresses - what the principles of procedural justice are, when they apply and what they require-touch everyone in modern society. Consequently, the book will interest all those who are concerned with justice in modern society.