West European Studies

Human beings have endeavored to establish laws that govern the relationship among individuals and to punish people that are seen to be acting contrary to these laws. Many laws exist but these have largely been informal. Apart from the mosaic laws, the only attempt to put in place formal laws that govern the conduct of individuals within a particular place occurred in Babylon. Having established a great empire, Hammurabi saw the need to develop laws that would govern the relationship and conduct of his subjects. These laws are similar to modern laws in some remarkable ways and also contrast with them in some very important ways. This paper aims to compare and contrast these laws so as to point out the similarities and the differences that exist between them. In order to satisfactorily carry out this task, this paper will provide a brief history of the Babylonian society so as to point out how much it varied with the modern society.

There is no actual record of the beginning of human life and the existence of the society which is not characterized by contention. The recorded human history is recent and dates back a few thousands of years back. Among these are the Hammurabi codes which were written two thousand years before Christ. Hammurabi was a great and able general who managed to conquer a vast land. He was also among the first kings to establish one of the worlds empires, a state in which the ruler also has control of other lands.

This great empire created by Hammurabi had a capital which became a thriving commercial center. This rapid growth posed various problems. The unprecedented human interaction and the demand for order from the ruling authorities called for formal laws to be instituted to govern the interaction among the subjects so as to avoid conflict situation. Even in situations where conflict was unavoidable, there was need to write formal laws for the purpose of resolving conflicts that may arise as a result of increased interaction. The Sumerian cities that were under control of Hammurabi had established their own codes of laws. However, Hammurabi recognized that that a single unified law would help in the unification of the vast empire. In this regard, he developed a set of codes referred to as Hammurabi Codes

The laws had a prologue which unambiguously stated the purpose of the code to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, and to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to enlighten the land and to further the welfare of the people (King, 2003). Apart from the last clause, the purposes of Hammurabis codes are similar to the modern laws which are meant to ensure justice. The codes further listed 282 particular laws. The laws did not provide abstract theories of justice but instead established rules for dealing with day to day issues such as contracts, inheritances, leases, perjury and debts, theft and other crimes. The great number of laws totaling 88 dealt with marriage, family and property.  The difference between these codes and the modern laws lies in the fact that the codes were very specific on how to handle various issues while the modern laws do not have particular ways of handling specific cases-they are mainly based on the case at hand.

There are three basic principles that Hammurabis Codes employed in handling the various legal problems. To begin with, the code frequently invoked the principle of retaliation to punish crime.  The modern laws are not founded on the principle of retaliation. Even though the codes were applicable to every individual during the time, it was differential in its treatment of the rich and poor, and men and women. For instance, the punishment for a common man who killed a member of the upper class was execution.  If an upper class individual killed a farmer, he would only be needed to pay good amount of money to the victims family. The modern laws are based on the principle of justice regardless of social class or gender. The majority of laws contained in the codes that applied to men and women also mirrored a double standard. For instance, if a man committed adultery, his wife would be allowed to leave him. However, an unfaithful wife would be drowned. In this regard, the laws were not impartial even though it gave women some rights. Unlike women from other societies, the women of Babylon were allowed own slaves, divorce, transact business and bequeath property. This contrasts with the basic principles of modern laws which are founded on the justice and equality before the law.

The code also established the principle of government being directly responsible for whatever took place in the society. For instance, if someone was robbed and the robber was not caught, it was the responsibility of government to compensate the victim. This principle is not contained in modern laws which mainly handle reported cases.

Apart from these differences, Hammurabi codes are similar to modern laws in the sense that they both aimed to advance the principle of justice.