Early History of Codified Law
• Code of Hammurabi
• Mosaic Law
• Justinian Code
• Greek
Early History of
Codified Law
• Code of Hammurabi
• Earliest
• Literally carved in
stone
• Categorisation: family,
criminal, labour,
property, trade,
business.
• Retribution
• Established system of
judges
Early History of
Codified Law
• Mosaic Law
• First give books of Old
Testament, Ten
Commandments
• Literally carved in
stone
• Corporal/capital
punishment
• Retribution
Early History of
Codified Law
• Justinian Code
• Became basis for
Western law
traditions
• Established profession
of experts
• Equity
• Lives on in Napoleonic
(French Civil) Code
Early History of Codified Law
• Greek
• responsible for 4 main types of law:
1. Tort Law
2. Public Law
3. Procedural
4. Family
•creating the legal process trials,
convictions, and sentencing
Foundations of Canadian Law
• Two of three founding nations of Canada
• France- Napoleonic/French Civil Code
• England- Common Law
Foundations of Canadian Law
• French Civil Code
•Private Law, based on Roman Law of
Emperor Justinian
•1 book
•Associated with “Civil Code” & “Justinian
Code”
•Contains almost all private law
•Major influence Quebec Law- permitted in
Proclamation 1770/Quebec Act 1774
Foundations of Canadian Law
• English Common Law
•“Judge-made law”
“Stare Decisis” – to stand by previous decision
•Founded in feudal England
•Established impartial & standard law
•Judges
rulings recorded
– creating
Law, which
was
•Judges
traveled
fromCase
town
to town
applied in future similar legal cases
the law similarly in similar cases
*King always maintained veto
•Known as: “Rule of Precedent”
& applied
Foundations of Canadian Law
• English Common Law Evolution (I)
King
Lords Barons
(Sole Judges of law)
Judges
English Common Law
(Judges met (assizes) to increase consistency)
Foundations of Canadian Law
• English Common Law Evolution (II)
• Rule of Law
• Equality
• No restrictions without reason
• Legal rights could not be changed
without consent (of the people, where
true power lay)
• Habeas corpus