Mechanisms of Legal Effect: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy and Self-Regulation

Law is recognized as a prominent intervention tool through which government can seek to achieve public health goals. Regulations are an effort by government to improve public health by putting the force of law behind stopping unhealthy behaviors. It might be imagined that the impact of law is straightforward. If a law is passed and backed up by threats of fines, arrest, incarceration or other such punishments, behavior should change. In reality however, obtaining compliance with the law is complex and can be difficult. Procedural justice is the study of people's subjective evaluations of the justice of procedures—whether they are fair or unfair, ethical or unethical, and otherwise accord with people's standards of fair processes for social interaction and decision-making. This presentation will examine the complexity of procedural justice and the legal mechanisms for enhancing procedural justice operating at individual, organizational and community levels to modify health behaviors and improve population health.