Timeline of the World's Justice Systems

SUMMARY

Ur-Nammu is the oldest surviving code of law, from ancient Mesopotamia, written in Sumerian; it contains 40 paragraphs, but is in such poor condition that only 5 can be understood, but what can be gleaned from the present information is the signs of an incredibly advanced legal system very similar to modern legalities, including the taking of oath, the power of judges to order fines, and a punishment system that was designed to fit the crimes committed.

Our legal system today being so similar to ones of the past shows that with time, every civilization comes to a point when similar practices are used as they are effective, and are not only unique to one time period or place, and are constantly evolving and changing and keep what has proved to be successful in the past, even subconsciously,

MEDIA

The Code of Ur-Nammu, displayed in the Istanbul Archeology Museums

1850 BC: The Earliest Known Legal Action

Written on a clay tablet dated 1850 BC, dictates the murder of a temple employee, by three men witnessed by nine people; when it was found that the wife knew of the murder plot she was also charged, but as she did not partake in the murder itself, was abused by her husband and was actually worse off after his death she was not executed like the other three.

As the first recorded crime and punishment, it is a crucial show of how law is similar throughout the ages, and how our Canadian society amongst many others uses these base philosophies and reasonings so many years later, as they make the most sense and are the most effective method of procuring a solution.

A further description of this ancient case: http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-44/Duhaimes-Timetable-of-World-Legal-History.aspx#1850bc

SUMMARY

The Ten Commandments were given to Moses approximately in the year 1300, directly from God, as a set of rules that the resounding society was to follow.

These rules, also known as laws, strongly influenced the society to abide to a set code, which directly translates to the system we have in place in Canadian democracy today, with so many people obligated to follow the same laws with expected consequence if not.

MEDIA

The Ten Commandments

SUMMARY

Draco was an Athenian aristocrat who was given the task of composing the new body of law in 7th century Greece; his laws were known for favoring the rich and being incredibly harsh, by giving the death penalty not only to murderers, but to people who also committed much smaller infractions (thus coining the term Draconian, used when referring to severe laws or punishments), however, his statutes were repealed in by Solon, save for his murder penalties.

Draco's laws paint an example of how when lawmakers go unchecked, making it necessary for those in charge of crafting laws to consult others in their department and the body of citizens the laws will impact, and get their approval, such as how our own democracy functions, with bills going through lengthy processes to get approved, as they are something so powerful and affect so many..

For further information on Draco's Law: https://www.ancient.eu/Dracos_Law_Code/

MEDIA

SUMMARY

The law school of Beirut was the first law school ever established, at around 450 BC, and it was then recognized in state documents in 250 BC, and was destroyed in 551 AD by an earthquake that hit the Phoenician coast; it was a center for the study and development of Roman law and law theory, with patrons such as the emperors of Rome.

Roman law is regarded as the starting point for much of modern law, and the law school of Beirut was where so much of those laws and tehories were discussed and debated, theories that we still debate to this day and laws that our own laws are a result of.

MEDIA

The oldest law univeristy, the Law Institute of Beiruit.

On June 15, 1215, due to pressures and threats of rebellion from his Barons, King John signed the Magan Carta, which outlined and gave many rights to his Barons and to the people and was the first document to ever put any limits to the absolute power and decision of the King, such as fair taxation and the right of habeas corpus.

The Magna Carta was the first to set the precedent that those in chrage had to answer for their actions, and that they're power rested in the hands of the people, and it is the base for English common law, which, with a few key diffefrences, is also what is used in Canada today.

SUMMARY

MEDIA

One of the surviving four copies of the finalized and most updated Magna Carta, dated 1225, which is now part of the collection of the British Libraries

SUMMARY

When Sir Matthew Hale, son of a barrister, was appointed to the Court of Exchequer in England in 1660, he wrote out a set of 18 rules for judges to subsequently follow, and when he was promoted to Lord Chief Justice as part of the King's Bench, hep promoted his set of 18 rules again, which called for judges to lay their personal views aside when dealing with a case, and to keep in mind always that they serve their country and it's people; Sir Hale's rules remained a fized part of the code of British judges for more than 200 years.

As Canada's systems of law are so closely similar to that of British law, there is no doubt that the 18 rules for judges impacted our own judicial system and how judges behave and deliberate in our country so many years later.

MEDIA

Sir Matthew Hale

In the August of 1670, William Penn (the future founder of Pennsylvania) and William Mead, `two Quakers, were arrested on the grounds of violating the Conventical Act, which forbade unlawful assembly of a religious gathering outside of the Church of England; the jury concluded that the two were guilty of speaking publicly on the street, but not an unlawful assembly, and when the judge grew enraged and threatened them, ultimately throwing them into jail and depriving of food, water and heat, and when they still did not rule the gathering as unlawful he fined all of them and put them in jail; Edward Bushel then petitioned for a writ of hebeas corpus, which after some hesitation was granted, ruling that a jury could not be punished for coming to a verdict.

To this day, this ruling is upheld and referenced, for to bully a jury into a favored response is completely against the principle of court itself.

SUMMARY

MEDIA

A plaque in Old Bailey commemorating the jury and the accused for standing up to and holding their ground against a judge out of line

The American Bill of Rights was an add on to the American Constituition that was created in 1787, eith the Bill being added in 1791 with ammendments such as freedom of religion, freedom of press, protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and unreasonable search and seizure, amongst others.

The American Bill of RIghts helped to pave the way for numerous countries to achieve their own democracy and adopt their own bill or charter of rights, such as we Canadians have, with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

SUMMARY

MEDIA

The American Bill of Rights

The first documented use of ink-on-paper fingerprinting was in 700 AD in China, where it was mostly used for identifying children and in business; the type of fingerprinting we are used to seeing, like in cases of criminal activity, was first seen in 1892 in Beunos Aires, Argentina by Inspector Eduardo Alvarez, in order to identify and confirm that Francisca Rojas murdered her two sons, and was not a victim, which she had tried to perpetuate by cutting her own neck to throw off the police.

Fingerprinting is a large part of our legal proceedings today, and while it has been put to and developed for the use of crime data collection, identification and much more, it has been a concept for long before we adopted it ourselves.

SUMMARY

MEDIA

These are the inked fingerprints of Francisca Rojas, which were compared to a bloody fingerprint left on a doorknob, which was used to prove her guilt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited

“Bushell's Case (1670).” Constitution Society: Everything Needed to Decide Constitutional Issues, www.constitution.org/trials/bushell/bushell.htm.

Duhaime, Lloyd. “Duhaime's Timetable of World Legal History.” Duhaime.org - Learn Law, www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-44/Duhaimes-Timetable-of-World-Legal-History.aspx.

Ed German, CLPE. The History of Fingerprints, onin.com/fp/fphistory.html.

History.com Editors. “Bill of Rights.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/bill-of-rights.

“Magna Carta an Introduction.” The British Library, The British Library, 17 Jan. 2014, www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction.

S, Alen, and Alen S. “Draco and Solon Era in Athens (621-593. B.C).” Short History Website, 9 May 2018, www.shorthistory.org/ancient-civilizations/ancient-greece/draco-and-solon-in-athens-621-593-b-c/.

Watson, Stephanie. “How Fingerprinting Works.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 5 Aug. 2019, science.howstuffworks.com/fingerprinting3.htm.

Yale, David Eryl Corbet. “Sir Matthew Hale.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Matthew-Hale.