13 Dec Why Is the Statue in Court Blindfolded
Lady Justice with the scales of justice was and is an important figure for judicial systems around the world. Its balance between impartiality and trial symbolizes how justice can be done. Lady Justice is not only an interesting statue, but also a reminder of the fundamental ideas and values of law. Since the 16th century, Lady Justice has often been depicted blindfolded. The banner was originally a satirical addition intended to show justice as blind to injustice committed before it,[5] but it has been reinterpreted over time and is now understood as impartiality, the ideal that justice should be applied regardless of wealth, power, or any other status. Early Roman coins showed Justitia with the sword in one and scales in the other, but with her eyes uncovered. [6] Justitia was not established until the middle of the 16th century. In the nineteenth century, he was generally portrayed as “blind.” The first known depiction of blind justice is the statue of Hans Gieng from 1543 on the Fountain of Justice in Bern. [7] Headband: It first appeared on a statue of Lady Justice in the 16th century and has been used intermittently ever since. Apparently, its original meaning was that the judicial system tolerated abuse or ignorance of certain aspects of the law. In modern times, however, the headband represents the impartiality and objectivity of the law and is not influenced by external factors such as politics, wealth, or celebrity.
For some reason, it was hard to find a statue or image of Lady Justice here in Malaysia. However, the elements of justice it contains are universal and can be seen all around us. So, is it pure coincidence that a statue of a blindfolded lady, often depicted with a sword in one hand and a scale (or âdacingâ as we call it Malaysians) on the other, adorns many court complexes around the world? Did she participate in the “Bird Box Challenge” before becoming mainstream? Over the centuries, these goddesses have become an imposing figure to be seen in our courts and legal institutions that represent justice in all its glory. She is now commonly known as “Lady Justice”. The ancient Romans worshipped Justitia or Lutitia, which is closest to the statues of the Lady of Justice, which were created more recently. He represented the morality of the judicial system. Well, while statues of Lady Justice may vary, the only characterization of Lady Justice that most people know of has three different characteristics: a blindfold, the scales of justice, and a sword. As you can imagine, these qualities represent important ideas and values.
The scales in Lady Justice`s hands are the scales of justice. Each party in a trial presents their evidence to the court (and puts it on the balance of justice). The ladder then slowly begins to tilt in one direction or the other. At the end of the process, the winner is the party that tipped the scales in their favor. BLINDBAND – Around the 16th century, Lady Justice began to appear in a headband. The banner represents impartiality and shows us that justice is applied regardless of our money, power, race, religion or any other social class. Although the headband is a common feature on statues around the world, it is not necessarily present on all Lady Justice statues. Scales and sword in the coat of arms of a Swedish court Instead of using the Janus approach, many sculptures simply omit the blindfold. For example, on the Old Bailey courthouse in London stands a statue of Lady Justice without a blindfold; [8] Court pamphlets explain that this is because Lady Justice was not originally blindfolded and because her “blank form” is supposed to guarantee her impartiality, making the blindfold superfluous.
[9] Another variant is to depict a blindfolded woman of justice as a human scale, weighing competing claims in each hand. An example of this is the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee. [10] Or could all this common symbolism point to a more sinister hidden conspiracy, as conspiracy theorists would have us believe, perhaps demonstrating the global monopoly of the Illuminati or other secret organizations on the judicial system? Works of art depicting the statue of the Lady of Justice, whether in the form of paintings, sculptures, coats of arms or metal statues, can be found all over the world. If you`re in North or South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Australasia, you`ll likely see the statue of the Lady of Justice in courthouses, law firms, and legal educational institutions. The history of the statue of Lady Justice dates back thousands of years and usually bears symbols of justice. Lady Justice, which balances justice, is one of the most recognizable symbols of the legal system. The statue of Lady Justice weighing the scales of justice shows an aura of fairness, opportunity and, as you can imagine, justice.