History of Law

Roman Law

300

• First lawyers were created to study increasingly complex legal matters
• This later greatly influenced European countries
• The law was mainly civil or private law – Rich vs. poor
o Emphasized equity: laws should be fair and just, all people are equal regardless of wealth or power
• Roman laws transferred into Justinian code after emperor Justinian

Ancient Greece

500

• First form of democracy recorded, derived from Greek words demos meaning "common people” and kratos meaning "rule, strength.”
• Direct democracy
• First juries in history to participate in trials
o Juries were forced to participate during courts, and could not opt out
o There was no reference to economic class and they participated on a large scale
o opinions were often influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theatres

Early British Law

Feb 24, 1066

• Reflective of roman law
• 1066 , William the conqueror invaded England
• He unified legal system under own authority
o Divine right of kings, a belief that royal authority to rule came only from God. Since many people feared or respected god, no one disobeyed the laws
• Developed method of dealing with cases that have similar issues, known now as case law or common law

Magna Carta

Feb 24, 1215

• Important development during the reign of King John
• Established himself as above the law
• Powerful groups forced him to sign magna carta
• 1215 - Magna carta
o Cannot restrict freedom of the people without reason
o Legal rights could not be changed without consent
o Guaranteed the right to habeas corpus (cannot be imprisoned without an explanation)

Glorious Revolution

Feb 24, 1688

• Nobles and church revolted against King John
• Parliament passed Bill of Rights
• Guaranteed free speech, free election, and freedom of assembly
• Parliament was seen as an institution that represented the citizens and their wishes
• Step toward the developement of democracy

Code of Hammurabi

Feb 24, 1750

• King of Babylon was the first to codify laws and penalties for breaking laws in his society
• Encouraged compliance with the law by attributing the law to the gods
• Violating laws meant severe punishments based on the concept of retribution
o Eye for an eye
• Did not distinguish between accidental and deliberate acts

Napoleonic code

Feb 26, 1804

• Built on roman law and Justinian code, rather than early french laws
• The first modern legal code to be adopted my much of Europe
• The code became very influential on developing countries outside of Europe that were attempting to modernize their country through legal system
• Civil laws that were created emphasized equity and justice for all
• The Napoleonic code mainly regulated civil matters
• Quebec civil law still based on Napoleonic code today

Canada's Constituion

Feb 24, 1867

• First constitution, the BNA act, effective July 1st, 1867
• Statute of Westminster
o Gave Canada control over its foreign affairs
• Supreme court of Canada became Canada’s highest court of appeal, however since the BNA act was a British statute, there was still a link to Britain
• The Amending formula allowed Canada to become truly independent with consent from the Canadian parliament, and 50% of the population