Historical Roots of Law
The earliest laws…
Existed in the form of “rules” from the time
people began to interact
Based on common sense or practicality
Passed on by word of mouth
As population grew became more complex
Necessary to put laws in writing
Commonalities across civilizations
Early Written Laws
Great Laws of Manu—India, 1280-880
BCE. Compiled laws that had been passed
orally
Code of Lik’vei—China, 350 BCE.
Included laws on theft, robbery, prison and
arrest
Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the King of Babylon (1792-1750
BCE)
Codified the rules and penalties for every aspect of
life
Attributed his laws to the gods, who people feared
and respected
Reflected a male-dominated society
Wealthy given more protection than the poor
Clear hierarchy of power
If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his hand
Hammurabi’s
laws were
based on
retribution
NOT
restitution.
Retribution
Restitution
Based on “an eye- for- Payment made by the
an-eye”
offender to the victim of the
Based on vengeance crime
and punishment
Common in the event of
damage or theft
Hammurabi:
Made no distinction between accident and
deliberate action
Favoured the wealthy and powerful, who often
went unpunished
Often had excessive and cruel punishments
Recognized that the strong should protect the
weak
Made it clear that people should not lie, especially
at trial
For the most part, many of his laws were reasonable and
just.
Mosiac Law- (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)
Also known as Biblical Law or Hebrew
Law
Includes the Ten Commandments
Similar basic principles to Hammurabi yet
somewhat more evolved
Punish deliberate action, not accident
More likely to punish guilty party
Care for the poor was important
Greek Law
First form of democracy was in Greece
BUT…
Only a small percentage of citizens had
rights.
Citizens expected to participate—voting,
earliest jury system,
Both sides could argue for a penalty and
the jury decided
Roman Law
Two basic principles: (1)law must be recorded and
(2) justice could not be left in hands of judges
alone
Advances: public prosecution of crime, system of
victim compensation, protection for lower classes
from upper class abuse, a person could seek legal
advice—the first legal advisors (Lawyers)
Not so much….Women were still not even
mentioned and had no status.
Justinian’s Code
New body of law based on the old Roman
Code
Inspired the modern concept of justice
One of the main systems to influence
Western Civilization
Elements still found in modern law today
Napoleonic Code--1804
Developed after French Revolution
Also known as French Civil Code
Popular—simple style made it accessible to
the average person
Regulated civil matters—property, wills,
contracts, family law
NOT A CRIMINAL CODE
Influences on Canadian Law
British law has the most influence on
Canadian practices.
Early British Law
Trial by Ordeal- Torture to determine
innocence.
Trial by hot iron
Trial by water (swimming a witch)
Trial by oath Helping
Friends of the accused to swear on the Bible
that he or she was innocent.
Trial by Combat
Determining guilt or innocence by having the
parties duel
Feudal system
William the conqueror 1066 invaded
England. The battle of Hastings lasted only
10 hours.
Divine right- monarchs and their successors
were given their power to rule from God.
Nobleman in charge of his own district and
people.
Common Law
Assizes: Travelling courts
Circuit Judges: judges of the travelling courts
Case Law: common decisions for similar cases.
Stare decisis: Latin meaning to stand by the
decision.
Rule of precedent: applying a previous decision
to a case that has similar circumstances.
Legal reforms
12 elderly men (for discussion- advisors)
Judge (made the decision)
Courts now handled the Law
Downfall of kings power (questioned the
divine right of the king.)
Magna Carta
Signed by King John in June 1215- power
back to the people
Rule of Law: no one is above the law
Habeas Corpus: “You must have the body”
The person detained is charged before a
court within a reasonable amount of time.
Aboriginal Law
Strong Religious beliefs
In 145- five nations came together to form
the League of nations.
1720 the constitution of Iroquois developed
the Great binding Law- outlines the rights,
duties and responsibilities of people.