Ebaõigust

Ebaõigust is the Estonian term for injustice or unfairness, referring to a state or condition in which fairness principles are violated. In ethical, sociological and legal discussion, ebaõigust describes outcomes, processes or structures that disadvantage people or treat them unfairly. It is not identical with illegality; a practice can be unfair without contravening the law, and a law can be perceived as unjust in its application or effect.

Scholars commonly distinguish four dimensions of ebaõigust: distributive justice (fairness of how resources and opportunities are shared); procedural justice (fairness of decision-making processes, including transparency, consistency and participation); corrective or remedial justice (adequacy of responses to wrongs and accountability); and recognitional or social justice (recognition of dignity, rights and equal standing in culture and institutions).

Causes include bias and discrimination, unequal access to education, health care and labor markets, and biased institutions or practices. Ebaõigust can be analyzed through ethical theories of justice, human rights standards, and empirical social science.

Efforts to reduce ebaõigust in public policy typically combine legal protections (anti-discrimination laws, due-process guarantees), social interventions (education, healthcare, social security) and institutional reforms to promote transparency, participation and accountability. In Estonian discourse, as in many democracies, reducing ebaõigust is a central aim of governance, policy evaluation and civil society oversight.