Cele două fețe ale politicului
The two sides of politics

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I have analyzed the political as a major determinant of justice, alongside morality, building on the constitutional formula that decisions should be made „according to law and conscience”. I have distinguished between two understandings of the political: the partisan one, which presupposes pluralism and the confrontation of ideas, and the fundamental one, which refers to the organization of the city-state (polis and politeia). I have argued that justice is inherently political in the latter sense, and that its independence actually relates to the former. I then explored the state through Weber’s definition, which regards it as the legitimate monopoly on the use of force, and I have analyzed the social contract as the foundation of legitimate power in modern societies. I have maintained that this contract is not universal but specific to states that respect individual rights. I have concluded that a functional state depends on an alliance between democracy and the rule of law, and that the decisions of justice, as part of the fundamental political realm, should reflect community values, not merely the professional competence of judges.

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