► See also the Law's Hall of Fame
► On the Origin of Law
This code has never been discovered but it is mentioned in other documents as a consolidation of existing "ordinances" or laws laid down by Mesopotamian kings. An administrative reform document was discovered which showed that citizens were allowed to know why certain actions were punished. It was also harsh by modern standards. Thieves and adulteresses were to be stoned to death with stones inscribed with the name of their crime. The code confirmed that the "king was appointed by the gods".
The earliest known written legal code of which a copy has been found, albeit a copy in such poor shape that only five articles can be deciphered. Archaeological evidence shows that it was supported by an advanced legal system which included specialized judges, the giving of testimony under oath, the proper form of judicial decisions and the ability of the judges to order that damages be paid to a victim by the guilty party. The Code allowed for the dismissal of corrupt men, protection for the poor and a punishment system where the punishment is proportionate to the crime. Although it is called "Ur-Nammu's Code, historians generally agree that it was written by his son Shugli.
A clay tablet reveals the case, in 1850BC, of the murder of a temple employee by three men. The victim's wife knew of the murder but remained silent. Eventually, the crime came to light and the men and woman were charged with murder. Nine witnesses testified against the men and woman and asked for the death penalty for all four. But the wife had two witnesses which told the court that she had been abused by her husband, that she was not part of the murder and that she was even worse off after her husband's death. The men were executed in front of the victim's house but the woman was spared.
This Greek citizen was chosen to write a code of law for Athens (Greece). The penalty for many offences was death; so severe, that the word "draconian" comes from his name and has come to mean, in the English language, an unreasonably harsh law. His laws were the first written laws of Greece. These laws introduced the state's exclusive role in punishing persons accused of crime, instead of relying on private justice. The citizens adored Draco and upon entering an auditorium one day to attend a reception in his honour, the citizens of Athens showered him with their hats and cloaks as was their customary way to show appreciation. By the time they dug him out from under the clothing, he had been smothered to death.
According to an 1881 law book written by Oxford University professor Thomas Holland (The Institutes of Justinian), law schools in Rome and Beirut (then Berytus), were recognized in state documents as early as 250 AD, said documents also referring to iuris professio (law professor).
Unfortunately, the law school in Beirut, called by Justinian legum nutrix (mother of law), was twice destroyed by earthquakes - in 348 and again in 554 - but was rebuilt such that by at least the 600s.
By 1100, in medieval Italy, students of law would hire a teacher to teach them Roman Law, especially Justinian's Code Corpus Juris, where the contributions of Irnerius was renowned.
Socrates was an Athenian philosopher. Socrates was not religious and preached logic. When Athens lost the Peloponesian Wars, conservative Athenians looked for a scapegoat. Three citizens brought an accusation against the 70-year old popular philosopher for allegedly corrupting the youth and for not believing in the gods. He was tried before a jury of 501 citizens that found him guilty on a vote of 281-220. When asked to speak on the proposed sentence, Socrates mocked the jurors and they replied, 361-140, with a sentence of death. Socrates' promoted "conscience" and his death increased interest in his life and teachings.
600: The Laws of Aethelbert (England)
The first laws believed to be written down in England were those of the Saxon (German) invader of Kent, King Aethelbert. The Germans tribes had occupied parts of England since the Romans retreated in about 410. Warren Lehman, in a 1985 paper published in the Journal of Legal History wrote:
"The first laws were probably set down between 600 and 615 in the kingdom of Kent on the southeast tip of England towards the end of the long reign of Aethelbert I. The people for whom Aethelbert and his counsellors wrote what he called domas or dooms - we might say judgments - had been tribesmen not long before.
"Law-writing made sense but not necessarily in Roman terms. The borrowed idea of law, I suggest, was radically altered to suit the needs and tastes of the borrowers."
Written by a Japanese prince regent, the Constitution shaped morality and law in Japan, a country which had just begun to develop and become literate. Some examples of its paternalistic clauses are: "peace and harmony should be respected because they are very important for intergroup relations"; "There are very few evil men. If we teach them (the Buddha beliefs), they may become obedient"; "equality, speediness and integrity should be maintained in court procedures" and "the basic philosophy in all matters should be "against privacy" and "toward public benefit". In it, one can observe that the emphasis of "Oriental law" which seeks to prevent disputes, whereas the "Western law" seeks to resolve disputes.
Fingerprinting was in use by this time in China as a means of identifying people.
In 1692, in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, USA, a group of young women accused several other women of practising witchcraft or worship of the Devil. The accusations turned into a judicial frenzy and over 300 people were accused of witchcraft, of which 20 were executed including a priest. The extremity of the penalty turned many against the prosecution of witchcraft. There would be no more witchcraft trials in New England.
This infamous legislation regulated the use of slaves and became the model for slavery in other states, until repealed as an effect of the American Civil War. "All Negroes, Indians ... and all their offspring ... shall be and are hereby declared to be and remain forever hereafter slaves; and shall be deemed ... to be chattels personal in the hands of their owners."
The 7 articles of the American Constitution were signed in Philadelphia in 1787 and formed the basis of the first republican government in the world. The Constitution defined the institutions of government and the powers of each institution, carefully carving out the duties of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The Constitution also declared that it was paramount to any other law, whether federal or state, and it would override any other inconsistent law. The American Constitution served as a model for the constitutions of many nations upon attaining independence or becoming democracies.
Sydney was the site of the first British settlement on Australia, which had been designated as a prime location as a British penal colony. For fifty years, Britain sent its worst men, who were quickly chained into work gangs and put to building roads and bridges. By 1821, there were 30,000 British settlers in the British commonwealth, of which 75% were convicts.
With the ink barely dry on the Constitution (signed only four years earlier), American statesmen amended their supreme law by declaring the rights of free speech, freedom of the press and of religion, a right to trial by one's peers (jury), and protection against "cruel and unusual punishment" or unreasonable searches or seizures. The ten amendments of Bill of Rights became known as the First to Tenth Amendment(s) respectively. The Bill of Rights influenced many modern charters or bills of rights around the world.
In this case (at 5 US 137), the Supreme Court upheld the supremacy of the Constitution and stated unequivocally that it had the power to strike down actions taken by American federal or state legislative bodies which, in its opinion, offended the Constitution.
This has come to be known as the power of "judicial review".
This case is considered by the legal profession to be the most important milestone in the history of American law since the Constitution.
As of August 2007, the case was available from usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/9.htm.
Under the government of Napoleon, France adopted a comprehensive code of civil law in 1804 which enshrined many of the victories obtained during the Revolution such as individual liberty, equality before the law and the lay character of the state. The Code also incorporated most parts of Roman law. The Code became a model for civil law systems such as Quebec, California and Louisiana. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Code was the fact that the law was written (as opposed to judge-made) and in a non-technical style and thus more accessible to the public. The Code regulated much of private law matters such as property, wills, contracts, liability and obligations. Many of its parts are traceable to Roman law. The French Code inspired similar civil codes in the Canadian Province of Quebec (1865), Germany (1900) and Switzerland (1907).
By this change to the American Constitution, slavery was abolished in the USA.
A special panel of eight judges convened in this German town to try Nazi officers for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during World War II. The judges came from the USA, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Twenty-four Nazis were tried and twelve received death penalties (although one defendant, Hermann Göring, committed suicide hours before his execution). This trial was important as it showed that even in times of war, basic moral standards apply in spite of military law principles which oblige a subordinate officer to obey orders. "The true test," wrote the Tribunal, "is not the existence of the (superior) order but whether moral choice (in executing it) was in fact possible". The crimes included torture, deportation, persecution and mass extermination.
REFERENCES:
- Lehman, Warren W., "The First English Law", The Journal of Legal History, Volume 6, May 1985, Number 1, Pages 1-32.