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Hammurabi’s code was a set of laws enacted by the Babylonian king Hammurabi in 1771 B.C. He reigned in 1792-1750 B.C. There were 300 laws created that discuss a wild range of subjects. Hammurabi’s laws prescribed punishments. General crimes were punished harshly and the death penalty is listed 30+ times. The penalty also depended on the social status of the accused or accuser. Women often had separate laws because they were a lower social status then men. -
One of the laws for the death penalty is law 22. “If anyone is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death”. Hammurabi’s code is a model of the modern law. Our law today has been evolved from Hammurabi’s code. It is like the back bone of our laws today and adapting it to our civilization today.
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His wife encouraged him to make new laws that were fairer to women. Some of the laws were about having parents being allowed to leave properties to their daughters, improving women’s rights, protecting sex workers and women from sexual violence and trafficking. The Justinian Code reflects on modern society today because it emphasized equality under the law especially for women. It was used as a foundation for many European countries legal systems.
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Emperor Justinian was not a fan of the old Roman laws so he planned to organize them and make them accessible to everyone. He got 10 men to review all the laws and they came up with the Justinian code which has over 4000 laws which are all recorded in 4 books. A lot of Justinian’s code reflects on the point of view of his wife. There were 4 parts to the code, part one “The Law Code”, part two “The Digest”, part three “The Institutes”, and finally part four “The Novellae (New Laws)”. -
The Common Law also known as Case Law was implemented in the Americas when colonization began. It was created by judges. Common Law influenced the decision making process in unusual cases where the outcome cannot be determined based on written rules of the law or existing statutes. Common Law draws from institutionalized opinions and interpretations from judicial authorities and public juries. The Judge that goes over the case determines which precedents apply to that particular case. -
Common Law is still used today it operates under a dual system of both Common and Civil Law. The courts operate under Common Law. An example of a Common Law today in Texas they have common law-marriage which if you meet certain requirements you can get married without having to register their union as either a civil or religious marriage.
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The Great Law of Peace was established by between the five Iroquois speaking tribes, the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Mohawk. This group of five nations established the Law of Great Peace in 1190. Before the five nations came together it was all started by a Peace Keeper who brought peace together for all of the nations. -
Each nation maintained its own leadership but all agreed that common causes would be decided in the Grand Council of Chiefs. The five nations were united into a league of nations. Today the Great Law of Peace has brought righteousness towards our legal system today by treating everyone fairly under the law.
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Before the Magna Carta Kings used to run wild and did not have to follow the law. In 1215 Magna Carta introduced the rule of law in England. The Magna Carta stated that everyone had to follow the rules and the King was not allowed to abuse his people or take away any of their rights. The Magna Carta also introduced the Habeas corpus which gave people who were accused of a crime a trial in a reasonable amount of time. -
The rule of law is a concept that everyone has to follow, it is very important because everyone should be equal under the law. When everyone is equal then power does not get abused and everyone gets treated the same. Also, you are innocent until proven guilty. The Magna Cartas impact on todays legal system was that it helped create fair laws and still does.
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The French Civil Code also known as the Napoleonic Code was introduced around the areas under French control. French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte enacted a new legal framework for France which was the “Napoleonic Code”. The set of laws mainly concerned property, colonial affairs, and the family and individual rights. The Laws codified several branches of law like criminal and commercial. -
The Napoleonic code made authority of men over their families stronger, deprived women of any individual rights and reduced the rights of illegitimate children. Colonial slavery was reintroduced and all male citizens were granted equal rights under the law and the right to religious dissent. Today the code remains a strong legal and cultural landmark for the French nation. A lot of European legal systems are established upon its basis and strong influence.