迟到的正义非正义

首先说出这句话的人难以确定。《Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations》一书将此归于威廉·格萊斯頓，但无法核证。[1]也有人将其归于威廉·佩恩的“迟来的正义不公正”（"to delay Justice is Injustice"）。[2]

这句话能在《Pirkei Avot》5:7（《米書拿》的汇编，公元前1世纪-公元2世纪）中找到："Our Rabbis taught: ...The sword comes into the world, because of justice delayed and justice denied..."（“我们的拉比教导：……剑进入了世界，因为正义的延迟和缺失”）[3]，以及1215年《大憲章》中第四十条"To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice."（“公义不会被任何人拒诸门外或被任何人买通，所有人都受法律保障”[4][5]）。納賀蒙尼德認為，叶忒罗在《出埃及记》18:22给出的建议「隨時審判百姓」，是說以色列需要更多法官，否则潜在的诉讼当事人可能因无法找到一名法官审理案件而遭受不公。[6]

马丁·路德·金在其《Letter from Birmingham Jail》信中写以“justice too long delayed is justice denied”（正义拖延太久则不是正义），这封信在1963年被运出监狱，其中将此署名于“昨日的杰出法学家”（"distinguished jurist of yesterday"）.

美国首席大法官沃伦·厄尔·伯格1970年在美国律师协会的讲话中说："A sense of confidence in the courts is essential to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people and three things could destroy that confidence and do incalculable damage to society: that people come to believe that inefficiency and delay will drain even a just judgment of its value; that people who have long been exploited in the smaller transactions of daily life come to believe that courts cannot vindicate their legal rights from fraud and over-reaching; that people come to believe the law – in the larger sense – cannot fulfill its primary function to protect them and their families in their homes, at their work, and on the public streets."[7]

迅速做出決策是「判斷 101」的一部分，並在每本司法手冊中都有相應的內容。[8]「法官應該努力以合理的速度履行所有司法職責，包括發表保留的判決。」[9]在加拿大也有類似的規定：「法官應迅速處理所有司法事務...」[10]

中國更常用的格言“正义可能会迟到，但不会缺席”及其变体，被一些观点认为是该句的谬误。

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