Rules and laws – and the conventions or customs from which they are descended – have been a part of human life ever since our ancestors first began to live in large and settled groups. But our knowledge is vague of laws that were in effect before the invention of writing in about 3500 B.C. The earliest known legal text was written by Ur-Nammu, a king of the Mesopotamia city of Ur, in about 2100 B.C. It dealt largely with compensation for bodily injuries, and with the penalties for witchcraft and runaway slaves.
One of the most detailed ancient legal codes was drawn up in about 1758 B.C. by Hammurabi, a king of Babylonia. The entire code, consisting of 282 paragraphs, was carved into a great stone pillar? which was set up in a temple to the Babylonian god Marduk so that it could be read by every citizen.
The pillar, lost for centuries after the fall of Babylon in the 16 century B.C., was rediscovered by a French archaeologist in 1901 amid the ruins of the Persian city of Susa. Hammurabi`s words were still legible. The pillar is now in the Louvre museum in Paris.
The laws laid down by Hammurabi were more extensive than any that had gone before. They covered crime, divorce and marriage, the rights of slave owners and slaves, the settlement of debts, inheritance and property contracts; there were even regulations about taxes and the prices of goods.
Punishments under the code were often harsh. The cruel principle of revenge was observed: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which meant that criminals had to receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims. Not only murderers but also thieves and false accusers faced the death penalty. And a child who hit his father could expect to lose the hand that struck the blow. The code outlawed private blood feuds and banned the tradition by which a man could kidnap and keep the woman he wanted for his bride. In addition, the new laws took account of the circumstances of the offender as well as of the offence. So a lower-ranking citizen who lost a civil case would be fined less than an aristocrat in the same position- though he would also be awarded less if he won.
Nevertheless, Hammurabi's laws represented an advance on earlier tribal customs, because the penalty could not be harder than the crime.
5. Первые законы. Законы Вавилона.
Правила и законы – и соглашения или обычаи, от которых они происходят – были частью человеческой жизни с тех пор, как наши предки сначала начали жить в многочисленных и прочных группах.
Но наше знание неопределенно из законов, которые были в действительности перед изобретением письма в приблизительно 3500 до н.э. самый ранний известный правовой документ был написан Уром-Nammu, королем города Месопотамии Ура, приблизительно в 2100 до н.э. Это имело дело в основном с компенсацией за телесные повреждения, и со штрафами за колдовство и беглых рабов.
Один из самых подробных древних сводов законов был составлен приблизительно в 1758 до н.э. Хэммурэби, королем Вавилонии. Весь кодекс, состоя из 282 абзацев, был вырезан в большой каменный столб? который был настроен в храме вавилонскому богу Мардуку так, чтобы он мог быть прочитан каждым гражданином.
Столб, потерянный в течение многих веков после падения Вавилона в 16-м веке до н.э., был открыт вновь французским археологом в 1901 среди руин персидского города Суз. Слова Хэммурэби были все еще четкими. Столб находится теперь в Лувре в Париже.
Законы, установленные Hammurabi, были более обширными, чем кто-либо, который пошел прежде. Они покрыли преступление, развод и брак, права рабовладельцев и рабов, урегулирования долгов, наследования и имущественных контрактов; были даже инструкции о налогах и ценах на товары.
Наказания в соответствии с кодексом были часто резки. Жестокий принцип мести наблюдался: глаз за глаз и зуб за зуб, который означал, что преступники должны были получить как наказание точно те раны и ущербы, которые они причинили их жертвам. Не только убийцы, но также и воры и ложные обвинители столкнулись со смертной казнью. И ребенок, который поразил его отца, мог ожидать терять руку, которая нанесла удар. Частная кровная месть кодекса вне закона и запрещенный традиция, по которой человек мог похитить и держать женщину, которую он хотел для своей невесты. Кроме того, новые законы приняли во внимание обстоятельства преступника, а также преступления. Таким образом, младший по званию гражданин, который проиграл гражданское дело, будет оштрафован меньше, чем аристократ в том же самом положении - хотя он был бы также награжден меньше, если бы он победил.
Тем не менее законы Хэммурэби представляли прогресс на более ранние племенные обычаи, потому что штраф не мог быть более трудным, чем преступление.
6. The Legal Heritage of Greece and Rome. Draco’s Code. Solon.
The ancient Greeks were among the first to develop a concept of law that separated everyday law from religious beliefs. Before the Greeks most civilizations attributed their laws to their gods or goddesses, Instead,:be Greeks believed that laws were made by the people for the people. In the seventh century B.C., Draco* drew up Greece's first comprehensive written code of laws. Under Draco's code death was the punishment for most offences. Thus, the term draconian usually applies to extremely harsh measures. Several decades passed before Solon poet, military hero, and ultimately Athens' lawgiver - devised a new code of laws. Trial by jury, an ancient Greek tradition was retained, but enslaving debtors was prohibited as were most of the harsh punishments of Draco' s code. Under Solon's law citizens of Athens were eligible to serve in the assembly and courts were established in which they could appeal government decisions. What the Greeks may have contributed to the Romans was the concept of "natural law." In essence, natural law was based on the belief that certain basic principles are above the laws of a nation. These principles arise from the nature of people. The concept of natural law and the development of the first true legal system had a profound effect on the modern world.
Solon, the Athenian statesman, is known as one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. He ended exclusive aristocratic control of the government, substituted a system of control by the wealthy, and introduced a new and more humane law code. He was also a noted poet. Unfortunately it was not until the 5th century B.C. that accounts of his life and works began to be put together, mostly on the evidence of his poems and his law code. Although certain details have a legendary ring, the main features of his story seem to be reliable. Solon was of noble descent but moderate means. He first became prominent in about 600 B.C. The early 6th century was a troubled time for the Athenians. Society was dominated by an aristocracy of birth, who owned the best land, monopolized the government, and were themselves split into rival factions. The social, economic, and political evils might well have culminated in a revolution and subsequent tyranny (dictatorship), as they had in other Greek states, had it not been for Solon, to whom Athenians of all classes turned in the hope of a generally satisfactory solution of their problems. Because he believed in moderation and in an ordered society in which each class had its proper place and function, his solution was not revolution but reform. Solon's great contribution to the future good of Athens was his new code of laws. The first written code at Athens, that of Draco, was still in force. Draco's laws were shockingly severe (hence the term draconian) - so severe that they were said to have been written not in ink but in blood. On the civil side they permitted enslavement for debt, and death seems to have been the penalty for almost all criminal offenses. Solon revised every statute except that on homicide and made Athenian law altogether more humane.
Дата добавления: 2015-02-16; просмотров: 446 | Поможем написать вашу работу | Нарушение авторских прав |