Justice vs Mercy

So we had this debate in class before
Which is higher/ more important?
Justice or Mercy?
This depends on various factors

Firstly I believe that it really depends on the situation.
If the situation is really minor, e.g. someone accidently bumped into you, then I believe we have to be gracious and have mercy on them. If we go by the theory of Justice of "an eye for an eye", it would be rather calculative if we wanted to use justice to punish them.
However, If the situation is especially major, such as murder or kidnap, then that's where the law comes in. Justice will exact the right and fair punishment to the offender, depending on the circumstances.

Secondly, I believe that it also depends on the victim as well. If the victim feels that mercy should be granted to the offender, and is gracious enough to let the matter rest and let go, it is, as Portia puts it "twice blest/ it blesseth him that gives and him that takes". However, it is really up to the victim whether he is willing to forgive and forget, as he does not really stand to gain in any way whether the offender is punished or not.

In my opinion, Justice is more important than mercy, as it helps to maintain law and order in the world. Without Justice, the world will be in chaos, and crimes will be rampant as there will not be a perpetrating force to stop these crimes from happening. If people have too much mercy, there will longer be any justice done, as the punishment will not be fair, and this may lead to a recurrence of the offence committed, as the punishment meted out is not harsh enough to deter the offender from doing it again. Although mercy is important as a virtue, it must not get into the way of Justice, so as not to obstruct the course of a fair verdict being passed.

Do you agree with my views on Justice and Mercy?

Yours Sincerely
Lim MX