We explain what impartiality is, various examples and what the principle of impartiality is in the State. Also, what is bias.
What is impartiality?
The impartiality is the ability of a person or an institution to make a judgment or decision objectivelythat is, considering only the factors strictly involved and without taking into account their own subjectivity or their interests. Thus, an impartial decision is understood as an objective decision, free of vices and prejudices.
Impartiality is considered a value in certain contexts, especially in the judicial context, since the notion of justice is very closely related to it. As the proverb says, you cannot “be judge and party”, that is, you cannot aspire to justice and at the same time be partial, that is, have your own interests in the matter to be decided.
We thus aspire to impartiality when facing reality in a clear and transparent manner, without ulterior motives. Not only judges, but also sports referees, traffic inspectors, police officers and all those who, in our society, exercise power, since this entails the responsibility, precisely, of using it impartially, that is, never to selfish and personal benefit.
Partial and impartial
The opposite term of impartiality is partiality, to the same extent that impartial is opposed to partial, like the prefix in- (turned into im by spelling rules) indicates.
These terms come from Latin partialis (“having to do with a part”), and are linked to pars and partis (“part”, “portion” or “faction”) in the same sense as the terms party (political) or partisan. In that sense, the impartial is that which does not lean towards any side, and partiality is the attitude that benefits a particular position.
Examples of impartiality
The following cases are examples of impartiality:
- A detective who discovers that a relative of his is involved in the case he investigates, and yet he continues with his work, without his personal connection hindering the investigation.
- A judge who must prosecute a person he hatesbut who is innocent, and whose feelings do not lead him to try to convict him anyway.
- A European football referee who remains as objective as possible in a match between Germany and Brazil, despite the fact that his preferences are with the European team.
Principle of impartiality
The principle of impartiality is known as the commandment that governs the public service and is contemplated in the Constitution of many countries, according to which Anyone to whom the State grants a share of power must exercise it for the common good and not for their own.so you are obliged to adopt an impartial stance.
In fact, in the opposite case, in which the public or administrative tasks of an official are carried out in such a way that they benefit only him, or that put his enrichment before the well-being of the nation, they are considered cases of corruption, embezzlement or other criminal administrative forms, that is, punishable in any case by law.
Continue with: General principles of law
References
- “Impartiality” on Wikipedia.
- “Impartiality” in the Dictionary of the language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Impartiality” in The Voice of Law.
- “Principle of impartiality” in the Library of the Ministry of Public Defense of Chubut (Argentina).
