Proportionality (disambiguation)
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The word proportionality may have one of a number of meanings:
- In mathematics, proportionality is a mathematical relation between two quantities.
- In law and politics, proportionality is a maxim in some theories of governance and a principle underpinning the constitution of the European Union. The principle of 'proportionality' is one of the fundamental principles of the jurisprudence developed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Written nowhere in the EC Treaty itself, the principle has been deduced by ECJ through purposive interpretation. In simple terms, the principle means that if you want to crack a nut, do not use a sledgehammer. The principle requires the institutions of the European Union and all Member States to not to take any measure in relation to any EU related matter that is excessive than what is absolutely required. For instance, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would employ this principle in the context of freedom of movement of goods between the members states to find out whether a given restrictive measure adopted by a member state is indeed 'proportional' to the objects it is aimed at. If the measure is not proportional, and is rather drastic, the ECJ may ask the member state to do away with the imputed measure.
- In politics, proportional representation is a democratic electoral system.
- In art, body proportions are the study of relation of human body parts to each other and the whole, essential for depiction of human figure. In architecture, proportion describes the relationships between elements of a design, often controlled by complex proportional systems.
- In typography, a proportional font is a font whose glyphs are displayed using varying widths.
- In the just war theory, proportionality is one of the conditions.