apportion means to "make a portion for", as in "to give you your portion (of justice)".
it's not negative, it's synonymous with "administer justice" or "make/deliver a ruling".
although it's probably not a 1-for-1 translation (exact translation), I think it may be similar to 予以制裁, in usage.
有些有權力的人 (?) [予以制裁]了。 (?)
apportion |əˈpôr sh ən|
verb [ trans. ]
divide and allocate : voting power will be apportioned according to contribution.
• assign : they did not apportion blame or liability to any one individual.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Old French apportionner or medieval Latin apportionare, from ad- ‘to’ + portionare ‘divide into portions.’