Magna Carta. Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights. The charter is widely known throughout the English speaking world as an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in England and beyond. The 1215 charter required King John to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary—for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right that still exists.
The name Runnymede may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'runieg' (regular meeting) and 'mede' (mead or meadow), describing a place in the meadows used to hold regular meetings. The Witan, Witenagemot or Council of the Anglo-Saxon kings of the 7th to 11th centuries was held from time to time at Runnymede during the reign of Alfred the Great. Clause 61[edit] Traditional Chinese law. Two traditional Chinese terms approximate "law" in the modern sense. The first, fa (法), means primarily "norm" or "model". The second, lü (律), is usually rendered as "statute". It originally seems to have meant "standard pitchpipe", instruments used in Chinese cosmic magic. History[edit] Early development[edit] The laws of the aristocratic societies of early China put substantial emphasis on maintaining the distinct ranks and orders among the nobles, in addition to controlling the populace.
The early rulers of the Zhou Dynasty issued or enforced laws that already exemplified the values of a primogeniture regime, most notable of which is filial piety. The Five Punishments dated from this time. Legalism and Qin[edit] The Legalist school, as represented by such thinkers as Han Fei Zi, insisted that the ruler must always rely on penal law and the imposition of heavy punishments as the main instrument of government. Imperial law[edit] Leniency is applied according to the Eight Deliberations: Chinese law. Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st century, law in China has been a complex mix of traditional Chinese approaches and Western influences.
Law in the People's Republic of China is currently undergoing gradual reform, as many elements inside and outside the country emphasize the need to strengthen the rule of law in China, and international trade and globalization spur transformations in various areas of Chinese domestic law. Chinese legal tradition[edit] A term which preceded fǎ was xíng (刑), which originally probably referred to decapitation. Xíng later evolved to be a general term for laws that related to criminal punishment. The two major Chinese philosophical schools discussed below, Confucianism and Legalism, strongly influenced the idea of law in China. The imperial period was characterized mainly by the concept of law as serving the state, a means of exerting control over the citizenry.
Confucianism and Legalism[edit] Legalism[edit] Comparative law. History[edit] The origins of modern comparative law can be traced back to 18th century Europe, although, prior to that, legal scholars had always practiced comparative methodologies.[1] Montesquieu is generally regarded as an early founding figure of comparative law. His comparative approach is obvious in the following excerpt from Chapter III of Book I of his masterpiece, De l'esprit des lois (1748; first translated by Thomas Nugent, 1750):[2] Also, in Chapter XI (entitled 'How to compare two different Systems of Laws') of Book XXIX, discussing the French and English systems for punishment of false witnesses, he advises that "to determine which of those systems is most agreeable to reason, we must take them each as a whole and compare them in their entirety.
" Yet another place where Montesquieu's comparative approach is evident is the following, from Chapter XIII of Book XXIX: Comparative law in the US was brought by a legal scholar fleeing persecution in Germany, Rudolf Schlesinger. Napoleonic code. First page of the 1804 original edition The Napoleonic Code ‒ or Code Napoléon (the official name being the Code civil des Français) ‒ is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804.
The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified.[1] It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on 21 March 1804.[1] The Code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws. Historian Robert Holtman regards it as one of the few documents that have influenced the whole world.[1] History[edit] The categories of the Napoleonic Code were not drawn from earlier French laws, but instead from Justinian's sixth-century codification of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis and, within it, the Institutes.[2] The Institutes divide law into the law of: personsthingsactions. Napoleonic reforms[edit]
Sharia. To Arabic-speaking people, sharia (shariah, shari'a, sharīʿah; Arabic: شريعة šarīʿah, IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa], "legislation"),[1] also known as Islāmī qānūn (اسلامی قانون), means the moral code and religious law of a prophetic religion.[2][3] In English usage, the term "sharia" has been largely identified with Islam.[4] Sharia deals with many topics addressed by secular law, including crime, politics, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, everyday etiquette and fasting. Though interpretations of sharia vary between cultures, in its strictest and most historically coherent definition it is considered the infallible law of God—as opposed to the human interpretation of the laws (fiqh).[5] However, historically, much of Sharia has been implemented in its strictest understanding. Etymology and origins[edit] History[edit] The Umayyads initiated the office of appointing qadis, or Islamic judges.
Definitions and descriptions[edit] List of country legal systems. Civil law[edit] While the concept of codification dates back to the Code of Hammurabi in Babylon ca. 1790 BC, civil law systems derive from the Roman Empire and, more particularly, the Corpus Juris Civilis issued by the Emperor Justinian ca. AD 529. This was an extensive reform of the law in the Byzantine Empire, bringing it together into codified documents. Civil law was also partly influenced by religious laws such as Canon law and Islamic law.[2][3] Civil law today, in theory, is interpreted rather than developed or made by judges. Scholars of comparative law and economists promoting the legal origins theory usually subdivide civil law into four distinct groups: Common law[edit] Common law is currently in practice in Ireland, most of the United Kingdom (England and Wales and Northern Ireland), Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India (excluding Goa), Pakistan, South Africa, Canada (excluding Quebec), Hong Kong, the United States (excluding Louisiana) and many other places.
Canon law. Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (Church leadership), for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church (both Latin Church and Eastern Catholic Churches), the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of churches.[1] The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was originally a rule adopted by a church council; these canons formed the foundation of canon law.
Etymology[edit] Greek kanon / κανών, Arabic Qanon / قانون, Hebrew kaneh / קנה, "straight"; a rule, code, standard, or measure; the root meaning in all these languages is "reed" (cf. the Romance-language ancestors of the English word "cane"). Canons of the Apostles[edit] Catholic Church[edit] History, sources of law, and codifications[edit] Lutheranism[edit]
Civil law (legal system) Legal system originating in continental Europe Unlike common law systems, civil law jurisdictions deal with case law apart from any precedent value. Civil law courts generally decide cases using codal provisions on a case-by-case basis, without reference to other (or even superior) judicial decisions. In actual practice, an increasing degree of precedent is creeping into civil law jurisprudence, and is generally seen in many nations' highest courts.
While the typical French-speaking supreme court decision is short, concise and devoid of explanation or justification, in Germanic Europe, the supreme courts can and do tend to write more verbose opinions, supported by legal reasoning. Civil law systems can be divided into: A prominent example of a civil law code is the Napoleonic Code (1804), named after French emperor Napoleon. The law of personsproperty law, andcommercial law. Roman law continued without interruption in the Byzantine Empire until its final fall in the 15th century. Roman law.