Harm creates imbalance

Harm Creates Imbalance

Category: Tsm’syen Law Page status: Working

Purpose

This page records the principle that harm creates imbalance within Tsm’syen law. It establishes imbalance as the legal condition that arises when harm occurs and requires response through restoration rather than punishment.

This page is declarative and does not establish courts, penalties, or enforcement bodies.

Principle

Harm creates imbalance.

Meaning

• Harm disrupts balance within individuals, houses, clans, and the Nation.
• Imbalance affects relationships, responsibilities, and trust.
• Law responds to imbalance by seeking restoration.

Scope of Harm

• Harm may affect individuals, families, houses, clans, land, and waters.
• Harm may be social, cultural, spiritual, or material.
• The scale of imbalance corresponds to the scope of harm.

Recognition

• Recognition of harm is required before restoration can begin.
• Denial or concealment of harm prolongs imbalance.
• Acknowledgment restores clarity and opens the path to resolution.

Consequences of Imbalance

• Unaddressed harm weakens governance and trust.
• Imbalance may spread if responsibility is avoided.
• Failure to respond invites further disruption.

Responsibility

• Responsibility arises from the creation of imbalance.
• Accountability may be individual and collective.
• Responsibility is directed toward restoring balance, not assigning blame alone.

Restoration

• Restoration seeks to repair relationships and obligations.
• Correction aims to rebalance rather than exclude.
• Resolution is measured by restored harmony and trust.

Limits

• Not all harm can be repaired immediately.
• Recognition does not equal punishment.
• Restoration requires willingness, not coercion.

Cross References

• Principles of Restorative Justice
• Justice Seeks Restoration, Not Retaliation
• Responsibility Is Collective as Well as Individual
• Resolution Prioritizes Repair of Relationships
• Balance in Tsm’syen Law
• Ayaawx
• Adaawx

To Be Developed

• Examples of imbalance and restoration
• House- and clan-based responses to harm
• Contemporary applications
• Source citations