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The code made of roughly 300 laws all speaking on a wide range of subjects. This set of laws is considered one of the earliest forms of written law we have access too, along with being seen as a model of modern times. These laws were agreed on and put into place in the Babylonian kingdom. The way the legal system worked was heavily influenced by vengeance and retribution. Out of the approximate 300 laws, roughly 30 of them ended in the death penalty. We took the aspect of prescribed punishments. -
The Magna Carta is what was put in place dictating that everyone, no matter their social standing, shall follow the rule of law and be forced to face the punishments. This greatly restricted what the king could do with his power. It also established the first parliament, which we still use today. The Magna Carta also introduced written law, also known as statute law. -
Justinian code is another form of written laws. It has roughly 4000 laws that were split between 4 books. The major thing that the Justinian code had was it had a step forward with equality. Women's rights were improved upon, and laws were passed which allowed parents to leave property to their daughters. Theodora, Justinian's wife, put many laws in place to protect women from trafficking. Justinian code is considered the basis of civil law, as it was a foundation for many European countries. -
Common Law established a team of judges that would roam the country settling cases. They would rely on something we still use today, called Precedent. Common law allowed everyone, including the defendant, to see what previous outcomes were and to be able to predict their own fate. Lawyers nowadays use it to try and get a similar sentence for their clientele. -
In modern Canada, we no longer see these belts as proper documentation. Treaties during these times were made in multiple ways. Wampum belts, paper treaties and oral confirmation of said agreements. The language barrier was a major problem, as treaties were a more modern form of legal agreements. What eventually came out of this was a constitution, which is still very prominent in modern politics and legal situations. A constitution is a list of rules that govern the government. -
The Napoleonic code is still used today, though it was altered to include more equality and rights for women as people. The first book dealt with laws and how people are to interact with one another, mainly adoption, childcare, marriage and the such. The second book concerned laws of property and material ownership. The third book handled things like marriage and inheritance.