History of Law2009

8/6/2019 History of Law2009

1/31

The Historyof Law


2/31

Law why does it exist?

- people needed a way of communicating

standards of acceptable behaviour to create

order

- Philosophers people are good or people

are bad (e.g. Locke )


3/31

Human History Earth 4.6 billion years old

Ancient hominid fossils date back millionsof years

Modern human history ~ 10 000 years after

the last ice age

Ancient Civilizations


4/31


5/31


6/31


7/31

Internet History

The Web History timeline:

http://www.w3.org/2005/01/timelines/?C=D;O=A


8/31

Early Societies

- small groups based their behaviours on

morals and were regulated through customs,

traditions and simple religions

- worked well for small groups but not large

groups


9/31


10/31

Influence ofReligion

- societies believed that natural or artificial

happenings could be interpreted as signals of

pleasure or displeasure from the gods

- sacrifices were made to appease thegods and fear kept people from breaking laws

- priests were very powerful as they were

the direct contacts with the divine

- some societies such as the Egyptians

linked the ruler and priest together

- traditional houses of power were the

state and the church


11/31


12/31

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/story/main.html


13/31


14/31

Code ofHammurabi

- 1730 B.C. Hammurabi (King of Babylon)

brought together all the laws and had them

inscribed on a column of stone for all

citizens to see

- earliest know written code of law

- allowed everybody to see what the lawswere and could now avoid breaking them

(if they could read)


15/31


16/31

Excerpts from Hammurabis Code under Protection of the

Person section

If a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off. (195)

If a man strikes a mans daughter and brings about amiscarriage, he shall pay ten shekels of silver for her

miscarriage. (209)

If that woman dies, his daughter shall be killed (210)


17/31

Mosaic Law

-Moses lead the Jews out of their bondage in Egypt

and was regarded as the link between the peopleand God

- The Ten Commandants was a summary ofMosaic

Law


18/31


19/31

Excerpt from the Book of Exodus under Protection of the

Person

Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to

death (21:12)

Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to

death (21:15)

If men quarrel together and one man strikes another with

stone or with his fist and he does not die but keeps his

bed, then if the man rises again and walks abroad with

his staff, he that struck him shall be clear only if he shallpay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be

thoroughly healed (21:18-19)


20/31

Greek Law

- adopted the principle of democracy and believed law

was the way to create a perfect society

-created a trial system where people were judged by their

fellow citizens (specific criteria to be a citizen)

-juries could be as large as 1000 people and had no

judges-voted on guilty verdict and sentence


21/31

Greek Empire


22/31

Roman law

- had the modern equivalent of lawyers to interpret the laws

of the Roman Empire

-Emperor Justinian coded all the laws together and created

the Justinian Code which is the basis for law in manyEuropean countries

-Quebecs Civil Code is based on this

-British Law followed another path


23/31


24/31


25/31

-our law comes from the British legal system which had an

unique evolution

400-1066 A.D.

- the Romans left England and states were established by

leaders all over the country

-these states fought each other constantly for resources, landand supremacy

-Kings united the lands and put into place a hierarchy of power

with courts that collected money for the King through fines

-Kings and nobles were above the law, controlled the land andsince the law wasnt written down it was based on local

customs, traditions and varied according to the whim of the

local lord


26/31


27/31

1066-1215 A.D.

-Henry I creates the Common Law and trains justices who

travel over the country and make consistent judgments

-following Kings set into place many of the procedures(precedent, writ, jury) that we still use today

-Kings used this system to suppress the people and

consolidate power in the monarchy


28/31

June 15,1215

-King John is forced by the clergy, barons and free people to

sign Magna Carta

-Magna Carta is the cornerstone of democracy and civil

liberties as it laid out important principles (a) need proof forsomeone to be put on trial (b) king is now subject to the law

(c) everyone has a right to justice

-later struggles for power between the people and the

monarchy lead to the creation of Parliament and the systemwe recognize today


29/31


30/31

1867 British North America Act

-created the Dominion of Canada and required the Canadian

Parliament to get approval from the English Parliament for any

laws that were created

1931 Statute ofWestminster

Canadians could now make their own laws (except

constitutional laws) without approval of the British Parliament


31/31

1982 The Canada Act

This gave Canada the ability to change its ownConstitution and was formally signed by the Queen

The first thing that was added was the Charter of Rights

and Freedoms by Pierre Elliot Trudeau our Prime

Minister

Queen

Elizabeth

History of Law2009

Documents

Transcript of History of Law2009