SIGNIFICANT PERSON OR CONCEPT
DEFINITION, OR IMPORTANCE
TWO EXAMPLES
HAMMURABI (POSITIVE LAW AS MADE BY A PERSON)
Codification
Retribution (eye for an eye)
Patriarchal
All Babylonians Subject to the law
King is above the law
Very harsh and cruel
Son gets hand cut off if strikes father, not mother
Doctor gets hand cut off if surgery goes wrong
Death for those who lie is court
MOSAIC LAW
(NATURAL LAW COMING FROM GOD)
Many laws similar to code of Hammurabi (killing, adultery and perjury are still forbidden)
Basis of Jewish and Christian faiths
Restitution to victim (civil court today)
Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai
Those who steal must repay the victim for goods stolen.
GREEKS
Democratic ideals in political and legal system
Limited democracy – citizenship limited to native-born men over age of 18; women, slaves and foreigners were excluded
Trials by jury of fellow citizens; could include 100s of people
Jury acted as judge
Charter; s.3 – right to vote
S. 11 guarantees right to trial by jury
ROMAN LAW
Created a legal profession and trained scholars
Justinian Code – emperor Justinian had all the laws of the time collected and organized into one manageable code
Presumption of innocence and no one is above the law
Basis of modern day lawyers
Codes adopted
BRITISH – Feudalism
It is a system of government where the king divides the land among his lord and nobles who will provide him with military service
The lords and nobles have vassals who do the work on the land, give produce to them and can provide military service
The king appointed judges who travel throughout England and listen to cases.
Judges met regularly in London to discuss cases and share experiences
The decisions that traveling judges made became the basis of English common law
It was a very fair system as it replaced the arbitrary judgments that lords had made over their vassals in the past.
Precedent
a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court utilizes when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.
A Precedent was created every time the decision about a case became common knowledge in the English legal community
Stare Decisis – stand by the decision; requires than a precedent be considered when ruling on a case with similar facts.
Initially precedents were unwritten
This system was considered to be an improvement over the right of a lord to judge cases however he chose
Appeals to decisions were allowed
Precedent introduces a degree of certainty in the law as lawyers can examine similar cases and expect a somewhat similar result.
Case law
As the number of judges and cases increased, recording decisions became necessary
Cases began to be recorded and published in paper and electronic form
Now recorded cases are given a title called a citation to make it easy to find in a law library
The Rule of Law
Many kings felt they were above the law but the Magna Carta in 1215 established that everyone was equal under the law and had to obey the law
Equality became important for the first time
People had legal rights
No person cold be imprisoned without a court appearance within a reasonable time (Habeas Corpus )
In Canada every dispute must be settled by peaceful means, either by discussion and negotiation or by due process in the courts
The Rule of Law brings order to people’s lives by preventing the use of violence and the abuse of human rights
Statute Law
Parliament was created to help make laws and reduce the amount of power the king had
When common law and case law cannot provide answers, parliament makes laws to fill in the gaps
Members of the public could now read the laws and know what they said
Parliament is seen as the institution that represents the wishes of the people
This was an important step in the development of democracy
Canada’s substantive law represents common law decisions and statute laws passed by government
10. FRENCH
French civil code – rooted in Roman law
Quebec employs civil law system – civil code of Quebec
Judges base decisions on the code and interpretations of the code by scholars rather than precedent
Help Us Fix his Smile with Your Old Essays, It Takes Seconds!
-We are looking for previous essays, labs and assignments that you aced!
-We will review and post them on our website.
-Ad revenue is used to support children in developing nations.
-We help pay for cleft palate repair surgeries through Operation Smile and Smile Train.
Author: William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)
https://schoolworkhelper.net/ Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays.
Article last reviewed: 2020 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2021 | Creative Commons 4.0