THE HISTORICAL
ORIGINS OF LAW:
Our Legal Heritage
Grade 11 Law
Code of Hammurabi
•ca. 1795 – 1750 BC -- Babylonia
•laws reflected a patriarchal society
•wealthy given more protection than the poor
Hierarchy of Society looked like
this:
GODS
KING
MALE NOBLES
WIVES &
CHILDREN OF
MALE NOBLES
POOR AND
SLAVES
An inscription of the
Code of Hammurabi
The upper part of a
stele depicting the
Code of Hammurabi
The laws were written
on a stone tablet more
than six feet tall that
was found in 1901
Legal Significance
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Hammurabi’s Code was one of the
first written codes of law in recorded
history
laws based both on retribution and
restitution, but mostly on retribution
Retribution= ‘Eye for an eye’ justice based on vengeance
For example: “If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes
to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house,
and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown
into that self-same fire.”
Restitution= repayment to a victim for harmful actions
For example: “Any one who opens his ditches to water his crop, but is
careless, and the water floods the field of his neighbor, then he shall pay
his neighbor corn for his loss.”
Mosaic Law
(about 1250 BCE)
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The laws of Moses AKA biblical law or
Hebrew law from the Book of Exodus
the Ten Commandments
more concerned with punishing a deliberate action
than an accidental
act of harm
more likely to punish the guilty party than permit
a person of high status to shift punishment to a
person of lesser status
care for the poor was expressed
both the Code of Hammurabi and the Mosaic Law
show the importance of respect for the parents
The Ten
Commandments
Moses by Michelangelo
Legal Significance
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One of the greatest influences on our
law and society
Sample Laws:
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he
shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep”
“If a thief is found breaking in and be smitten that he die,
there shall be no blood shed for him.”
Greek Law (around 400 BCE)
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Only a small number of people in ancient Greece
(Athens) were recognized as citizens and had
political rights
citizens excluded women,
children, aliens and slaves
Women who were on trial
were not allowed to speak
for themselves
responsibilities of the citizen included voting, jury
duty and the running of the country
our jury system can be traced to Athens, though
they originally had as many as 1501 jurors
The Trial of Socrates
The trial of Socrates took place over a nineto-ten hour period in the People's Court,
located in the agora, the civic center of
Athens. The jury consisted of 500 male
citizens over the age of thirty, chosen by lot
from among volunteers.
Athens used very large numbers of jurors,
from 500 to as many as 1501, in part as a
protection against bribes: who could afford
to bribe 500 people? All jurors were
required to swear by the gods of Zeus,
Apollo, and Demeter the Heliastic Oath:
"I will cast my vote in consonance with the
laws and decrees passed by the Assembly
and by the Council, but, if there is no law, in
consonance with my sense of what is most
just, without favor or enmity. I will vote
only on the matters raised in the charge,
and I will listen impartially to the accusers
and defenders alike."
The Death of Socrates - Jacques-Louis David (1787)
Legal Significance
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Emphasis on citizen involvement in
law making and enforcement
(elections and juries)
Origins of the concept of juries; of
the rights of the accused to be tried
by his/her peers
Roman Law
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Roman law is based on two basic principles:
(1) the law must be recorded
(2) justice cannot be left in the hands of
judges alone to interpret
the Twelve Tablets of Roman Law are now
considered the foundation of modern law
A Roman Soldier
trumpets the arrival of
the new laws. Note the
tools that identify the
workers and the woman
who is calling to others
to come and see the
laws.
Roman Law Continued
laws reflected a patriarchal society
- women had no status as persons
because the
Roman Empire had
spread into a large
sophisticated and
complex society
laws increased – as
laws increased so
did the need to
have people who
were experts in the
field of law to
advise those who
were not =
LAWYERS
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Legal Significance
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Emphasis on public prosecution of crimes
Origins of idea that citizens should be
represented by an expert of law – trained
lawyers
Tremendous influence on most modern
legal codes
Justinian’s Code
527-565 A.D.
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after 395 CE the Roman Empire was
split into the Byzantine Empire and
the Western Roman Empire
Byzantine Emperor Justinian
commissioned ten men to study and
clarify the 1600 books of Roman Law
the Justinian Code served as an
important basis for law in
contemporary society
Legal Significance
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The term ‘justice’ is derived from
Justinian’s name
Formed the basis of civil law (laws
governing personal relationships)
which, along with criminal law,
became one of the main legal systems
to govern western civilization
France and the Napoleonic Code
The Napoleonic Empire in 1812
“I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought
order out of chaos. I rewarded merit
regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I
found it. I abolished feudalism and restored
equality to all regardless of religion and
before the law. I fought the decrepit
monarchies of the Old Regime because the
alternative was the destruction of all this. I
purified the Revolution."
-Napoleon Bonaparte
France and the Napoleonic Code
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Napoleon commissioned a
new code of laws called the
Napoleonic Code, also known
as the French Civil Code
these laws represented a
compromise between the
Germanic law of northern France and the
Justinian Code of Southern France
this law became popular because its nontechnical style made the law accessible to
the public
NAPOLEON THE LAWMAKER
Painting by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse
One of the carvings around the walls of Napoleon’s tomb
- Napoleon is shown with the Justinian code in his right
hand and the Napoleonic code in his left
Legal Significance
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The Napoleonic Code served as the
prototype for subsequent codes during the
nineteenth century in twenty-four
countries; the province of Québec and the
state of Louisiana have derived a
substantial portion of their laws from it.
The Code, is regarded as the first modern
counterpart to ROMAN LAW, and is
currently in effect in France in an
amended form
END