What are the four pillars of procedural justice?

• A. Fairness and consistency of rule application; Voice and representation in the process; Transparency and openness of the process; Impartiality and unbiased decision-making.
• B. Speed, efficiency, secrecy, and control.
• C. Privacy, discretion, loyalty, obedience.
• D. Deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation.

Answer: (A)

Procedural justice is about how decisions are made and how people are treated during the process, not just what outcome is reached. The four pillars focus on creating a fair, open, and trustworthy process: giving people a real chance to be heard (voice and representation in the process); applying rules consistently so outcomes aren’t influenced by bias (fairness and consistency of rule application); keeping the process open and explainable (transparency and openness of the process); and ensuring decisions are made by officials who are neutral and unbiased (impartiality and unbiased decision-making).

This answer matches those ideas by tying each pillar to a concrete practice: allow input from those involved, enforce rules in a consistent way, explain how decisions are made, and act without prejudice. When people experience these elements, they’re more likely to view the process as legitimate and comply with the outcome, even if it isn’t favorable.

The other options describe goals or traits that aren’t about how decisions are reached or how people are treated in the process—speed and secrecy, privacy and loyalty, or traditional punishment objectives like deterrence and rehabilitation—which don’t capture procedural justice.