On the philosophical origins of proportionality

Proportionality is a worthy quality to possess in one’s day-to-day life. It reflects life experience and careful reasoning. It is an embodiment of the notion of justice and can therefore be found in the image of Lady Justice holding scales. It is also an expression of rational thinking. We demand of ourselves and others to act proportionally. We require that the punishment be proportional to the offense. Therefore, an “eye for an eye” was considered a measured response. In the Jewish religious sources we find the Golden Rule which says: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” The notion of proportionality has inspired thinkers throughout the generations. The classical Greek notions of corrective justice (justitia vindicativa) and distributive justice (justitia distributiva) have also contributed to the development of proportionality as a rational concept. Early Roman law recognized the notion as well. By 1215, the Magna Carta had already recognized the principle in writing:

The writings of St. Thomas Aquinas made a significant contribution to the development of the notion of proportionality. During the Middle Ages, the international law doctrine of “Just War” made use of the term. According to the doctrine, there was a need to balance the overall utility of the war with the damage it may inflict.

Proportionality and the Enlightenment

The development of the concept of proportionality is inexorably linked to the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century and the notion of the social contract. These new developments viewed the relationships between citizens and their ruler in an entirely new light: It was the citizens who provided their ruler with powers – limited powers – and those powers were granted only if they would be used for the people’s benefit, not the ruler’s. These notions were echoed in the law. Thus, for example, Sir William Blackstone notes in his famous commentaries that the concept of civil liberty should be found only within “natural liberty so far restrained by human laws (and not farther) as is necessary and expedient for the general advantage of the public.”