The Development of Law in Early Western History

Society develops because of a need for people to use the services of others and insure their own security. In order for a society to gain such a reliable reputation, there needs to be a backbone, which in this case would be a code of law. In looking at the development of law through the early history of the West, it can be seen that there has been a movement toward some forms of equality and a much more equitable practice of law. In the Code of Hammurabi there is the notion of the “seignior” throughout the passages, which refers to a “lord” or “master,” truly identifying the main targets of the code. In Justinian’s Code, there was much more of a focus on the family and the rights of both men and women in family life. A similar document, The Burgundian Code, is a German law code that emphasized family, but showed tendencies toward compensation through monetary payments and servitude. These three documents exemplify the giant strides made in the West over two millennia of history that would be the foundations for what we see today in law.

Hammurabi’s code of law was a necessity in a land with so many resources. His law codified the strict social mores and hierarchy that existed within Mesopotamian society. But some form of justice did exist within these laws. Hammurabi stated that when, “a seignior came forward with false testimony in a case, and has not proved the word which he spoke, if that case was involving life, that seignior shall be put to death.” This could be seen as justice if the words were not part of a larger context. Hammurabi’s term “seignior” is similar to a term like “master” or “lord” as I noted previously. This means that the laws that are presented by Hammurabi are meant for the upper echelon of society, not the peasants and the common man.