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HISTORY


Today I will be discussing the history of Law on a very broad basis. First thing is first lets start with the beginning of course.











What is the origin of law?

The Origin of Law is the background to our diverse legal systems today, and stretches back from a time before man was ableat he wanted to live by. (Graham)








Where does the law come from?

In the United States, the Constitution is the ultimate source of the law. However, it was never designed to address every specific legal question. Within the boundaries of the Constitution, there are two primary sources of law, common law and statutory law. This law comes from the judicial branch.


(Graham)


Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)


"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,


establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,






promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to






ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the






United States of America"




Who invented the first law?
By the 22nd century BC, Ur-Nammu, an ancient Sumerian ruler, formulated the first law code, consisting of casuistic statements ("if... then..."). Around 1760 BC, King Hammurabi further developed Babylonian law, by codifying and inscribing it in stone.
Babylonian Law? The Code of Hammurabi refers to a set of rules or laws enacted by the Babylonian King Hammurabi. Around the 23rd Century BC, the Akkadian and Sumerian peoples around the Mesopotamian region eventually developed into the Babylonians, which provides history with a large number of examples of ancient laws, and in fact were so comprehensive that the majority of laws and legal procedures that most cultures of today have, including contracts, deeds, bonds, and judges, were represented. Babylonian Law notes the first instances of marriage and family laws known to have existed, among other common laws still in existence today (Graham)




Where does common law come from?
Common law originated during the Middle Ages in England, and from there was propagated to the colonies of the British Empire, including India, the United States (both the federal system and 49 of its 50 states) (Tani)







When people think of ancient law they think of the Magna Carta or indeed the 10 Commandments, but evidence shows that the theory of law was understood and implemented somewhat for a very long time prior to that, and some form of justice system prevails amongst even the least developed of cultures alive today, and in fact, there are still some basic laws in western society whose origins can be traced back to Roman Times. (Tani)
Roman EmpireEdit


Roman law was heavily influenced by Greek teachings. It forms the bridge to the modern legal world, over the centuries between the rise and decline of the Roman Empire. Roman law, in the days of the Roman republic and Empire, was heavily procedural and there was no professional legal class. Instead a lay person, iudex, was chosen to adjudicate. Precedents were not reported, so any case law that developed was disguised and almost not recognized. Each case was to be decided afresh from the laws of the state, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today. During the 6th century AD in the Eastern Roman Empire, the Emperor Justinian codified and consolidated the laws that had existed in Rome so that what remained was one twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before. This became known as the Corpus Juris Civills. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before." (Tani)



Sources:

Graham, Gray R. "Law and the Rule of Law." The Judicial Learning Center. Pheonix Design, 3 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.


Tani, Karen. "Legal History Blog." Legal History Blog. University of Pennsylvania, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.




Henrey, Wilson H. "Relation of History." View Content. Nebraska State Historical Society Page, 1887. Web. 2008.