Comparing Historical Sources of Law and Law Today
Type of Law
Time Period
Main Characteristics
Comparison with Laws Today
Code of Hammurabi
3800 years
ago
laws prepared in recorded form
by King Hammurabi of Babylon
(now Iraq)
laws now prepared by committee
and approved by elected and
appointed representatives of a
democratic government
all laws of this society clearly
carved in columns of stone so
that they could be easily
accessible and understood
family, criminal, labour,
property, trade and business
laws are more complex and
punishment may vary
various sources of law - not
compiled in one code
code set out punishment for
corresponding crimes
based on concept of retribution an “eye for an eye”
Mosaic law
3000 years
ago
laws that Moses gave to the
people with many patterned on
the Hammurabic Code
set out in first five books of the
Old Testament of the Bible and
based on the Ten
Commandments engraved on
two stone tablets from God forbade killing, adultery - central
position in Jewish and Christian
religions
stoning was a common
punishment and other penalties
were more severe than in
Hammurabic Code with respect
to crimes against parents
restitution for crimes like theft repaying for stolen goods
stoning still in penal code of Iran for
adultery and other sexual offences
modern laws do not reflect such
harsh penalties for crimes against
parents
modern laws are now reintroducing notion of restitution to
some degree but jail term still
predominant form of punishment
Roman law
A.D. 100 until 5th
century
number of laws grew as Empire
grew and they became more
complex
found it necessary to establish a
profession devoted to legal
matters
basis of law for most of Europe
except England
similar in complexity due to
complexity of Roman society
necessary to have profession
devoted to interpretation of laws
1000 years of Roman law were
codified in Justinian Code,
including past laws, legal
opinions, and new laws passed
by Emperor Justinian
Napoleonic Code
1804
Napoleon Bonaparte revised
French law which had been
based on the Justinian Code of
Roman Law
basis of law of Quebec and State of
Lousianna as well as the country of
Thailand
known as French Civil Code - not
to be confused with general used
term of “civil law” in rest of
Canada
Served as basis of much
European law and came to other
parts of the world with French
colonists
The Development of Canadian Law
 based on laws of France and England
 the two systems differ significantly - french law codified and English law is
not (not written down)
 Some English law started to be written down but most is not - its existence
is simply accepted through practice and precedent
 English law was developed by judges who met and discussed their decisions
which became more and more consistent and these decisions became the
basis of the law common to all people - the British Common Law
 Common law is based on rule by precedent - Stare decisis - “to stand by
earlier decisions
 Law of Equity - available through King where applying precedent would be
unfair - still recognized in Canadian law
 Precedent Law was important because it:

recognized a degree of certainty

introduced impartiality and consistency

system of using earlier cases to convince judges of client’s
argument - known as “case Law”
 Rule of Law - also comes from England - no one is above the law, including
kings, and disputes are to be settled through the courts rather than by
violent means and based on respect for the laws
 Statute Law also exists in Canada - originally passed by newly informed
British parliament to undo injustice by strict adherence to precedents in
common law
 Statute law and common law operate side by side with statutes and cases
both being reported