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Historical Roots of Law
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Word of Mouth

Laws have existed for as long as people have been
interacting with each other. Originally these laws were
passed on through word of mouth.
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Why did it became necessary to write down laws?

“As populations grew and people began trading, not just within
their own villages but also with other nations, laws became more
complex” (Law in Action p. 17)
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Original Written Laws

Great Laws of Manu – Laws from India that were written
between 1280 and 880 BCE.
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Code of Li k’vei – A Chinese code that had been written
around 350 BCE, including laws dealing with theft, robbery,
prison, and arrest.

Early laws were written all around the world and had many
similarities, including: property rights, slavery, and treatment
of women and children.
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The Code of Hammurabi
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One of the earliest known set of laws.

Who was Hammurabi?

He was the king of Babylon who codified over 300 rules and
penalities for every aspect of Babylonian life

He attributed his laws to the gods, which made his laws more
important as people feared and respected the gods.
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Retribution

Many of Hammurabi’s laws were based on retribution.
Retribution is justice based on vengeance and punishment.

It was hard to judge whether something happened as an
accident or in retribution.

Hammurabi’s society was based on hierarchy and those who
committed a crime often went unpunished. The female
relatives of men or their slaves were expected to accept
retribution. Men could shift their punishment to another
person.
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Restitution

While retribution may seem unjust, Hammurabi’s laws also
followed the believe of restitution.

Restitution is the concept of making payment to the victim of
the crime.

Look at the laws on page 18. What do they tell us about
Babylonian society?
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Mosaic Law

Mosaic Law is Biblical or Hebrew Law and is found in the
Book of Exodus.

These laws are now commonly referred to as the Ten
Commandments.

These laws were written about 500 years after the Code of
Hammurabi, but the principles are similar.

Deal more with punishing than ‘an eye for an eye’ deliberate
act of harm.

Look at the laws on page 19. What do they tell us about
Mosaic Law?
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Greek Law

The first democracy but political rights were only given to
citizens.

Citizens were expected to participate in major decisions
affecting their country (voting and jury duty).

The largest jury would be over 6000 members.

Women were not allowed to speak for themselves in trial.

During a trial, the accused and accuser would offer a
suggestion for punishment and the jury would vote.
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Roman Law

Two Principles: 1) law must be recorded, and 2) justice
cannot be left in the hands of judges to determine.

Roman laws were codified for the first time on the Twelve
Tablets in 450 BCE.

These laws were written by 10 men and are considered the
foundation of modern law.

Roman’s were the first to have an advisor, or expect in the
law, which are now know as lawyers.
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Justinian’s Code

The Roman Empire eventually divided into the Byzantine
Empire and the Western Roman Empire.

The Byzantium Emperor Justinian hired 10 men to clarify the
1600 books of Roman law.

When it was complete, this new law book became known as
Justinian’s Code. This book is the foundation of civil law.
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Napoleonic Code

After the French Revolution, Napoleon gained political
control over France.

To unify French laws, he created the Napoleonic Code, which
combines Germanic law and the Justinian Code.

Law become more accessible to the public and this code
regulated wills, contracts, property, and family law.

Look at the family law excerpt on page 23. What do they tell
us about society at that time.