The Code of Hammurabi and its influence on Modern Law

The Code of Hammurabi and its influence on

Modern Law

It is well known to many Americans that our laws have been adapted from older societies, with probably the most prevalent known being the Greek. It wasn’t till I read the readings for this week that I stopped to think that the ancient Greeks got their ideas for law elsewhere, and it is almost unreal to imagine that a set of laws written on a giant piece of stone 3700 years ago could influence our lives today, yet that is precisely the case with the code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi started his rule of Mesopotamia in a time of chaos and frequent war; he made it his mission to establish justice in the area and in doing so changed the course of history. He founded the first written legal code which was a set of 282 laws that sought to bring equity to the people of Mesopotamia.The totality of these laws established the eye for an eye mentality still prevalent in many societies today.

Throughout history and modern day it has been easy to see similarities in the laws of different cultures, these readings opened up the idea that these similarities span centuries and virtually all the countries of the world. The one hundred ninety sixth code of Hammurabi states that “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.”  In reading and thinking of similarities with modern law an essay from critical thinking class last semester was remembered, it was an article for the defense of capital punishment. Capital punishment is a classic example of an eye for an eye in the modern world, this article I am referencing makes note of the fact that capital punishment doesn’t legitimize killing any more than fining one for a robbery or imprisoning them for kidnapping legitimizes those crimes, for their punishment corresponds nicely with the crime committed. All three of these punishments for crimes today show direct relation to laws included in The code of Hammurabi.

Although all of these laws have clear roots in the code of Hammurabi they have been modified to fit modern standards. The twenty second law of Hammurabi states “If a man practice robbery and is captured, that man shall be put to death.”  In modern days is hardly thought civilized to kill one for murder, let alone for committing a robbery therefore new standards have accounted for this action. In the case of kidnapping the law of Hammurabi says that “If persons are stolen, then shall the community and. . .pay one mina of silver to their relatives.”  This is obviously not the case in the modern societies today when one is “stolen” everything is done to return them safely to their relatives, and assure the criminal is imprisoned to make certain he does not “steal” another person.  New standards have had to be determined for many more of the laws of Hammurabi,” for many people today have developed the notion that two wrongs do not make a right. As time goes by these rules are likely to change even more from their original meanings, however they change to meet the beliefs of the people of the time it seems that essentially all modern law roots from the Code of Hammurabi.

             

How Hammurabi established his code