Legal history
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Legal history or the history of law is the study of how
Ancient world
Southern Asia
Eastern Asia
The eastern Asia legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.
- Yassa of the Mongol Empire
Canon law
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Canon law of the Catholic Church |
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The legal history of the
The history of Latin
In the twentieth century, canon law was comprehensively codified. On 27 May 1917, Pope Benedict XV codified the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
Islamic law
One of the major legal systems developed during the Middle Ages was
European laws
Roman Empire
Middle Ages
During the
After much of the West was consolidated under Charlemagne, law became centralized so as to strengthen the royal court system, and consequently case law, and abolished folk-right. However, once Charlemagne's kingdom definitively splintered, Europe became feudalistic, and law was generally not governed above the county, municipal or lordship level, thereby creating a highly decentralized legal culture that favored the development of customary law founded on localized case law. However, in the 11th century, crusaders, having pillaged the Byzantine Empire, returned with Byzantine legal texts including the Justinian Code, and scholars at the University of Bologna were the first to use them to interpret their own customary laws.[30] Medieval European legal scholars began researching the Roman law and using its concepts[31] and prepared the way for the partial resurrection of Roman law as the modern civil law in a large part of the world.[32] There was, however, a great deal of resistance so that civil law rivaled customary law for much of the late Middle Ages.
After the
Modern European law
The two main traditions of modern European law are the codified legal systems of most of continental Europe, and the English tradition based on case law.[37]
As nationalism grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, lex mercatoria was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. Of these, the French Napoleonic Code and the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch became the most influential. As opposed to English common law, which consists of massive tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are converging. European Union law is codified in treaties, but develops through the precedent set down by the European Court of Justice.
African law
The African law system is based on common law and civilian law.[38] Many legal systems in Africa were based on ethnic customs and traditions before colonization took over their original system.[39] The people listened to their elders and relied on them as mediators during disputes. Several states didn't keep written records, as their laws were often passed orally. In the Mali Empire, the Kouroukan Fouga, was proclaimed in 1222–1236 AD as the official constitution of the state. It defined regulations in both constitutional and civil matters. The provisions of the constitution are still transmitted to this day by griots under oath.[40] During colonization, authorities in Africa developed an official legal system called the Native Courts.[41] After colonialism, the major faiths that stayed were Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.
United States
The
Under the doctrine of federalism, each state has its own separate court system, and the ability to legislate within areas not reserved to the federal government.
See also
- Legal biography
- Association of Young Legal Historians (AYLH)
- Constitution of the Roman Republic
Notes
- ^ "International law – Historical development". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "International law – Historical development". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "International law – Historical development". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ Théodoridés. "law". Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt.
* VerSteeg, Law in ancient Egypt - ^ Kelly, A Short History of Western Legal Theory, 5–6
- ^ J.P. Mallory, "Law", in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, 346
- ^ Ober, The Nature of Athenian Democracy, 121
- ^ "Study reveals origin of India's caste system". The Times of India. 11 August 2013.
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 255
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 276
- ISBN 9781783475728.
- ISBN 9781136950360.
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 273
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 287
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 304
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 305
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 307
- ^ Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 309
- ^ Farah, Five Years of China WTO Membership, 263–304
- Dr. Edward N. Peters, CanonLaw.info, accessed Jul-1-2013
- ^ Raymond Wacks, Law: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Ed. (Oxford University Press, 2015) pg. 15.
- ^ a b Della Rocca, Manual of Canon Law, pg. 13, #8
- JSTOR 839667.
- ^ Kelly, A Short History of Western Legal Theory, 39
- ^ As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the Eastern world. It also forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental Europe ("Roman law". Encyclopædia Britannica.).
- ^ Gordley-von Mehren, Comparative Study of Private Law, 18
- ^ Gordley-von Mehren, Comparative Study of Private Law, 21
- ^ Stein, Roman Law in European History, 32
- ^ Stein, Roman Law in European History, 35
- ^ Stein, Roman Law in European History, 43
- ^ Roman and Secular Law in the Middle Ages Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Roman law
- ^ Makdisi, John A. (June 1999). "The Islamic Origins of the Common Law". North Carolina Law Review. 77 (5): 1635–1739. suggests that there may have been some importation of Islamic concepts as well, but others have shown that occasional similarities are more likely coincidence than causal.
- ^ doi:10.1016/j.jce.2007.03.007. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Poland, Peter S. “King Arthur, Rambo, and the Origins of Civility at the Bar.” Litigation, vol. 42, no. 2, 2016, pp. 52–57. JSTOR website Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Sealey-Hooley, Commercial Law, 14
- JSTOR 838275.
- ISSN 0022-278X.
- S2CID 154081067.
- ^ "Africamix sur le site du Monde". Archived from the original on 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ISSN 0021-8553.
References
- Farah, Paolo (August 2006). "Five Years of China WTO Membership. EU and US Perspectives about China's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism". Legal Issues of Economic Integration. 33 (3): 263–304. SSRN 916768.
- Barretto, Vicente (2006). Dicionário de Filosofia do Direito. Unisinos Editora. ISBN 85-7431-266-5.
- Della Rocca, Fernando (1959). Manual of Canon Law. The Bruce Publishing Company.
- Glenn, H. Patrick (2000). Legal Traditions of the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-876575-4.
- ISBN 0-00-711121-5
- Kelly, J.M. (1992). A Short History of Western Legal Theory. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-876244-5.
- Gordley, James R.; von Mehren; Arthur Taylor (2006). An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Private Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-68185-8.
- Otto, Martin (2011). "Law". European History Online. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- Sealy, L.S.; Hooley, R.J.A. (2003). Commercial Law. LexisNexis Butterworths.
- Stein, Peter (1999). Roman Law in European History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 32. ISBN 0-521-64372-4.
- Kempin, Jr., Frederick G. (1963). Legal History: Law and Social Change. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Further reading
- The Oxford History of the Laws of England. 13 Vols. Oxford University Press, 2003–. (Six volumes to date: Vol. I (Canon Law and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction from 597 to the 1640s), vol. II (871–1216), vol. VI (1483–1558), vols. XI–XIII (1820–1914))
- The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History. Ed. Stanley N. Katz. 6 Vols. Oxford University Press, 2009. (OUP catalogue. Oxford Reference Online)
- Potz, Richard: Islam and Islamic Law in European Legal History, Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: November 28, 2011.
External links
- The Legal History Project (Resources and interviews)
- Some legal history materials
- The Schoyen Collection
- The Roman Law Library by Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev.
- CHD Centre for Legal History – Faculty of Law, University of Rennes 1
- Centre for Legal History – Edinburgh Law School
- The European Society for History of Law
- Collection of Historical Statutory Material – Cornell Law Library
- Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online – University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives
- Basic Law Drafting History Online -University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives