HISTORICAL ROOTS OF LAWTurning Points in History - Hammurabi's Code of Laws - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDALXORbtR4

Hidden Histories: Law and Order- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxOZ7KUC1yk

Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian King, 3800 years ago)• Took nearly 300 laws and

recorded them in a way that could be understood by his citizens

• One of earliest records of written law

• Codification – process of arranging written laws so they can be understood• Categories (family, criminal,

property…)• Judges could match offense

and punishment by looking at the written ‘code’

• ‘Code’ principles• the strong should not injure

the weak• Retribution – Every crime

deserved a punishment• (eye for an eye)

Code of Hammurabi (column of stone)

Created about 3800 years ago

Discovered in 1901

Modern Day Iraq

Kept at the Louvre in Paris, France

Structure of Society:

• GODS• KING

• MALE NOBLES• WIVES & CHILDREN OF MALE NOBLES

• POOR AND SLAVES

Let’s Look at their Laws…

• http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w5NGOHbgTw

• Why is Hammurabi’s code significant?• What aspects of Hammurabi’s do we still value in

current legal society?

Legal Significance - Hammurabi• Laws reflected a patriarchal society• Wealthy given more protection than the poor• Laws based both on retribution and restitution, but mostly on

retribution

• KEY TERMS:• Codification =• Patriarchal = • Restitution = • Retribution =

Moses and Mosaic Law• Centuries after Hammurabi

• Laws given to Moses – make up the first five books of the Old Testament (613 laws or ‘mitzvot’) – including the ‘Ten Commandments”

• Holds a central position in both the Jewish and Christian faiths

• Punishmens of Mosaic law were severe

Mosaic Law• Concerned with punishing a deliberate action than an

accidental act of harm

• 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

• Human Rights: Mosaic Law - • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUURj3U70XU

Legal Significance• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id6oS3L-D9A

• Religion as a source of law and morality

• Laws come from ‘God’• First 4 commandments – belief and

loyalty to one God • Next 6 commandments –

relationships between people • Protection and care for the poor

Greek Law (around 400 BCE)• 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 nine-to-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 – Greek Law• Responsibilities of the citizen included voting, jury duty and the

running of the country

• Jury system

Egyptian Law• Based on a common sense view of right and wrong,

following the codes based on the concept of Ma'at. • Ma'at (goddess) represented truth, order, balance

and justice in the universe. • This concept allowed that everyone, with the

exception of slaves, should be viewed as equals under the law, regardless of wealth or social position.

• However, when punishment was carried out, often the entire family of the guilty suffered as well. • For example, when individuals were sentenced to

exile, their children were automatically outlawed along with them. If a relative deserted from military service, or defaulted on the labor demands of the state, the entire family might be imprisoned.

Legal Significance – Egyptian Law

• Sense of right and wrong• Everyone, with the exception of slaves, should be

viewed as equals under the law, regardless of wealth or social position

Roman Law• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSKQCS4V-dg

• Began by early Romans – became the basis of law for Western Europe (except England)

• As the Roman Empire grew so did the complexity and number of its laws

• New profession devoted to the study of legal matters developed - Law

• Byzantine emperor Justinian (527-564CE) codified 1000 years of Roman law to create the “Justinian Code”

• Laws emphasized equality – that the law should be fair and just, and that all people are equal under the law, regardless of their wealth or power

Roman Empire (100CE – 500CE)

Roman Law• 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 are now considered the foundation of modern law

• 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

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.

Legal Significance

• Public prosecution of crimes• Citizens should be represented by an expert of

law – trained lawyers• Trial by Jury• Trial procedures – opening/closing statements,

present evidence…

France and the Napoleonic Code

• French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.

• As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815.

• 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 non-technical style made the law accessible to the public

NAPOLEON THE LAWMAKERPainting by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse

France and the Napoleonic Code

“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

The Napoleonic Empire in 1812

Legal Significance – Napoleonic Code• Created a Civil Code – made law accessible to all

people (amended code still used in France and Quebec)

• Education accessible to public – primary and university

• All citizens are equal under the law – regardless of social standing

• All people paid taxes – poor did not pay more tax vs. rich

• Separations between religion and government• Religious tolerance – no discrimination

Justinian’s Code• 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

• Justinian Code served as an important basis for law in contemporary society

• 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

Legal Significance

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