The
history of law is closely connected to the development of civilization. Ancient
Egyptian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, contained a civil code that
was probably broken into twelve books. It was based on the concept of Ma'at,
characterised by tradition, rhetorical speech, social equality and
impartiality. By the 22nd century BC, the ancient Sumerian ruler Ur-Nammu
had formulated the first law code, which consisted of casuistic statements
("if ... then ...").
Around
1760 BC, King
Hammurabi further developed Babylonian
law, by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed
several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as setae, for the entire
public to see; this became known as the Codex
Hammurabi. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in
the 19th century by British Assyriologists, and has since been fully transliterated
and translated into various languages, including English, German, and French.
The
Old Testament dates back to 1280 BC and takes the form of moral
imperatives as recommendations for a good society. The small Greek city-state,
ancient Athens, from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based
on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and the slave class.
However, Athens had no legal science or single word for "law",
relying instead on the three-way distinction between divine law (thémis), human
decree (nomos) and custom (díkē). Yet Ancient Greek law contained major constitutional
innovations in the development of democracy.
Roman
law was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were
developed by professional jurists and were highly sophisticated. Over the
centuries between the rise and decline of the Roman Empire, law was adapted to
cope with the changing social situations and underwent major codification under
Theodosius II and Justinian I.
Although
codes were replaced by custom and case law during the Dark Ages, Roman law was
rediscovered around the 11th century when mediæval legal scholars began to
research Roman codes and adapt their concepts. In mediæval England, royal
courts developed a body of precedent which later became the common law. A
Europe-wide Law Merchant was formed so that merchants could trade with common
standards of practice rather than with the many splintered facets of local
laws. The Law Merchant, a precursor to modern commercial law, emphasised the
freedom to contract and alienability of property.
As
nationalism grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was
incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. The Napoleonic
and German Codes became the most influential. In contrast to English common
law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are
easy to export and easy for judges to apply. However, today there are signs
that civil and common law are converging. EU law is codified in treaties, but
develops through the precedent laid down by the European Court of Justice.
Ancient
India and China represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had
independent schools of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra,
probably compiled around 100 AD (although it contains older material), and
the Manusmriti
(c. 100–300 AD) were foundational treatises in India, and comprise
texts considered authoritative legal guidance. Manu's central philosophy was
tolerance and Pluralism, and was cited across Southeast Asia. This Hindu
tradition, along with Islamic law, was supplanted by the common law when India
became part of the British Empire.
Malaysia,
Brunei, Singapore and Hong Kong also adopted the common law. The eastern Asia
legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.
Japan was the first country to begin modernising its legal system along western
lines, by importing bits of the French, but mostly the German Civil Code. This
partly reflected Germany's status as a rising power in the late
19th century. Similarly, traditional Chinese law gave way to
westernisation towards the final years of the Ch'ing dynasty in the form of six
private law codes based mainly on the Japanese model of German law.
Today
Taiwanese law retains the closest affinity to the codifications from that
period, because of the split between Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists, who fled
there, and Mao Zedong's communists who won control of the mainland in 1949. The
current legal infrastructure in the People's Republic of China was heavily
influenced by Soviet Socialist law, which essentially
inflates administrative law at the expense of private law rights. Due to rapid
industrialisation, today China is undergoing a process of reform, at least in
terms of economic, if not social and political, rights. A new contract code in
1999 represented a move away from administrative domination. Furthermore, after
negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the World Trade
Organisation.
(king
Hummurabi is revealed the code of laws by the mesopotamian sungod Shamach also
revered as the god of justice)
http://www.historyoflaw.info/
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