Ancient Laws and Modern Problems

Ancient Laws and Modern Problems PDF Author: John Sassoon
Publisher: Intellect (UK)
ISBN: 9781841501239
Category : Comparative law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
John Sassoon's study of the written laws of four thousand years ago puts paid to the belief that the most ancient laws were merely arbitrary and tyrannical. On the contrary, the earliest legal systems honestly tried to get to the truth, do justice to individuals, and preserve civil order. They used the death penalty surprisingly seldom, and then more because society had been threatened than an individual killed. Some of the surviving law codes are originals, others near-contemporary copies. Together they preserve a partial but vivid picture of life in the early cites. This occupies more than half the book. Comparison of ancient with modern principles occupies the remainder and is bound to be controversial; but it is important as well as fascinating. The first act of writing laws diminished the discretion of the judges and foretold a limit on individual justice. Some political principles such as uniformity of treatment or individual freedom have, when carried to extremes, produced crises in modern legal systems world wide. But it is tempting but wrong to blame the judges or the lawyers for doing what society require of them.

Ancient Laws and Modern Problems

Ancient Laws and Modern Problems PDF Author: John Sassoon
Publisher: Intellect (UK)
ISBN: 9781841501239
Category : Comparative law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
John Sassoon's study of the written laws of four thousand years ago puts paid to the belief that the most ancient laws were merely arbitrary and tyrannical. On the contrary, the earliest legal systems honestly tried to get to the truth, do justice to individuals, and preserve civil order. They used the death penalty surprisingly seldom, and then more because society had been threatened than an individual killed. Some of the surviving law codes are originals, others near-contemporary copies. Together they preserve a partial but vivid picture of life in the early cites. This occupies more than half the book. Comparison of ancient with modern principles occupies the remainder and is bound to be controversial; but it is important as well as fascinating. The first act of writing laws diminished the discretion of the judges and foretold a limit on individual justice. Some political principles such as uniformity of treatment or individual freedom have, when carried to extremes, produced crises in modern legal systems world wide. But it is tempting but wrong to blame the judges or the lawyers for doing what society require of them.

Women, Crime and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society

Women, Crime and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society PDF Author: Elisabeth Meier Tetlow
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780826416285
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Crime and punishment, criminal law and its administration, are areas of ancient history that have been explored less than many other aspects of ancient civilizations. Throughout history women have been affected by crime both as victims and as offenders. Yet, in the ancient world customary laws were created by men, formal laws were written by men, and both were interpreted and enforced by men.

Ancient Greek Laws

Ancient Greek Laws PDF Author: Ilias Arnaoutoglou
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134749953
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
In this comprehensive and accessible sourcebook, Ilias Arnaoutoglou presents a collection of ancient Greek laws, which are situated in their legal and historical contexts and are elucidated with relevant selections from Greek literature and epigraphical testimonies. A wide area of legislative activity in major and minor Greek city-states, ranging from Delphoi and Athens in mainland Greece, to Gortyn in Crete, Olbia in South Russia and Aegean cities including Ephesos, Samos and Thasos, is covered. Ilias Arnaoutoglou divides legislation into three main areas: * the household - marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, sexual offences and personal status * the market-place - trade, finance, sale, coinage and leases * the state - constitution, legislative process, public duties, colonies, building activities, naval forces, penal regulations, religion, politics and inter-state affairs. Dr Arnaoutoglou explores the significance of legislation in ancient Greece, the differences and similarities between ancient Greek legislation and legislators and their modern counterparts and also provides fresh translations of the legal documents themselves.

Constitutionalism

Constitutionalism PDF Author: Charles Howard McIlwain
Publisher: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
ISBN: 1584775505
Category : Constitutional history
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Examines of the rise of constitutionalism from the "democratic strands" in the works of Aristotle and Cicero through the transitional moment between the medieval and the modern eras.

The Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi PDF Author: Hammurabi
Publisher: E-Kitap Projesi & Cheapest Books
ISBN: 6057876644
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description
The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1754 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a man-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis) as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man. Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract, establishing, for example, the wages to be paid to an ox driver or a surgeon. Other provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the liability of a builder for a house that collapses, for example, or property that is damaged while left in the care of another. A third of the code addresses issues concerning household and family relationships such as inheritance, divorce, paternity, and sexual behavior. Only one provision appears to impose obligations on an official; this provision establishes that a judge who reaches an incorrect decision is to be fined and removed from the bench permanently. A few provisions address issues related to military service. Hammurabi ruled for nearly 42 years, c. 1792 to 1750 BC according to the Middle chronology. In the preface to the law, he states, "Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared Marduk, the patron god of Babylon (The Human Record, Andrea & Overfield 2005), to bring about the rule in the land." On the stone slab there are 44 columns and 28 paragraphs that contained 282 laws. The laws follow along the rules of 'an eye for an eye'.

Law and Order in Ancient Athens

Law and Order in Ancient Athens PDF Author: Adriaan Lanni
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521198801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
This book draws on contemporary legal scholarship to explain why Athens was a remarkably well-ordered society.

The Laws of Hammurabi

The Laws of Hammurabi PDF Author: Pamela Barmash
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197525415
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Among the best-known and most esteemed people known from antiquity is the Babylonian king Hammurabi. His fame and reputation are due to the collection of laws written under his patronage. This book offers an innovative interpretation of the Laws of Hammurabi. Ancient scribes would demonstrate their legal flair by composing statutes on a set of traditional cases, articulating what they deemed just and fair. The scribe of the Laws of Hammurabi advanced beyond earlier scribes in composing statutes that manifest systematization and implicit legal principles, and inserted the Laws of Hammurabi into the form of a royal inscription, shrewdly reshaping the genre. This tradition of scribal improvisation on a set of traditional cases continued outside of Mesopotamia. It influenced biblical law and the law of the Hittite empire significantly. The Laws of Hammurabi was also witness to the start of another stream of intellectual tradition. It became the subject of formal commentaries, marking a profound cultural shift. Scribes related to it in ways that diverged from prior attitudes; it became an object of study and of commentary, a genre that names itself as dependent on another text. The famous Laws of Hammurabi is here given the extensive attention it continues to merit.

Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Current problems and the legacy of the past

Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law: Current problems and the legacy of the past PDF Author: John Duncan Martin Derrett
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004057531
Category : Hindu law
Languages : en
Pages : 494

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Book Description


Ancient Greek Law in the 21st Century

Ancient Greek Law in the 21st Century PDF Author: Paula Perlman
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477315217
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The ancient Greeks invented written law. Yet, in contrast to later societies in which law became a professional discipline, the Greeks treated laws as components of social and political history, reflecting the daily realities of managing society. To understand Greek law, then, requires looking into extant legal, forensic, and historical texts for evidence of the law in action. From such study has arisen the field of ancient Greek law as a scholarly discipline within classical studies, a field that has come into its own since the 1970s. This edited volume charts new directions for the study of Greek law in the twenty-first century through contributions from eleven leading scholars. The essays in the book’s first section reassess some of the central debates in the field by looking at questions about the role of law in society, the notion of “contracts,” feuding and revenge in the court system, and legal protections for slaves engaged in commerce. The second section breaks new ground by redefining substantive areas of law such as administrative law and sacred law, as well as by examining sources such as Hellenistic inscriptions that have been comparatively neglected in recent scholarship. The third section evaluates the potential of methodological approaches to the study of Greek law, including comparative studies with other cultures and with modern legal theory. The volume ends with an essay that explores pedagogy and the relevance of teaching Greek law in the twenty-first century.

The Law Book

The Law Book PDF Author: Michael H. Roffer
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
ISBN: 1454901691
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1262

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Book Description
Which was the last country to abolish slavery? Which is the only amendment to the U.S. Constitution ever to be repealed? How did King Henry II of England provide a procedural blueprint for criminal law? These are just a few of the thought-provoking questions addressed in this beautifully illustrated book. Join author Michael H. Roffer as he explores 250 of the most fundamental, far-reaching, and often-controversial cases, laws, and trials that have profoundly changed our world—for good or bad. Offering authoritative context to ancient documents as well as today’s hot-button issues, The Law Book presents a comprehensive look at the rules by which we live our lives. It covers such diverse topics as the Code of Hammurabi, the Ten Commandments, the Trial of Socrates, the Bill of Rights, women’s suffrage, the insanity defense, and more. Roffer takes us around the globe to ancient Rome and medieval England before transporting us forward to contemporary accounts that tackle everything from civil rights, surrogacy, and assisted suicide to the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Google Books, and the fight for marriage equality. Organized chronologically, the entries each consist of a short essay and a stunning full-color image, while the “Notes and Further Reading” section provides resources for more in-depth study. Justice may be blind, but this collection brings the rich history of the law to light.