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P olitical philosophy, philosophy of law Also called corrective justice or remedial justification. A kind of justice that Aristotle contrasted to distributive justice. Injustice can arise in transactions between persons if one party gains at the expense of another. Such transactions include both those that are voluntary , such as buying, selling, or lending, and those that are involuntary , such as stealing, bearing false witness, or assaulting. In rectificatory justice, a judge redresses or rectifies this injustice by awarding compensation to the injured party. The compensation is not a punishment , although in modern times injuries caused by involuntary transactions might be subject to criminal prosecution. According to Aristotle, a judge must establish an arithmetic proportion to achieve justice through rectification. The two parties, A and B, are originally equal. If A unjustly takes a part C from B, they become A+C and B-C respectively. The judge restores the balance by taking C from A and giving it back to B. “Rectificatory justice is what is intermediate between loss and profit.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics ... log in or subscribe to read full text