HISTORY OF LAW

WHAT IS LAW
“Law” is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as “a rule or system of rules
recognized by a country or community as regulating the actions of its members and enforced by
the imposition of penalties”.
Functions of the Law
In a nation, the law can serve to (1) keep the peace, (2) maintain the status quo, (3)
preserve individual rights, (4) protect minorities against majorities, (5) promote social justice,
and (6) provide for orderly social change. Some legal systems serve these purposes better than
others.

JEWISH LAW
The word "halakhah" is usually translated as "Jewish Law", although a more literal
translation might be "the path that one walks". The word is derived from the Hebrew root Heh-
Lamed-Kaf, meaning to go, to walk, or to travel.
What Does Halakhah Consist of?
Halakhah is made up of mitzvot from the Torah as well as laws instituted by the rabbis
and certain customs. All of these have the status of Jewish law and all are equally binding. The
only difference is that the penalties for violating laws and customs instituted by the rabbis are
less severe than the penalties for violating Torah law, and laws instituted by the rabbis can be
changed by the rabbis in rare, appropriate circumstances.
The 613 Mitzvot
At the heart of halakhah is the unchangeable 613 mitzvot that God gave to the Jewish
people in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). The word "mitzvah" means
commandment. In its strictest sense, it refers only to commandments instituted in the Torah;
however, the word is commonly used in a more generic sense to include all of the laws, practices
and customs of halakhah, and is often used in an even more loose way to refer to any good deed.

Source: https://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/halakhah.htm

ROMAN LAW
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome. It is the form and content of law that was
developed by the Romans during their 1,000 year empire starting in 500 BC. The law they
developed was logical and for the most part, commensurate with most people's common sense.
The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence - from
the Twelve Tables (ca. 439 BC) to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 528–35) ordered by Emperor
Justinian I. Gradually, from the time of its publication in 533, Roman law permeated Europe and
formed the basis of the civil law of Europe. Roman law is the source of modern civil law.

Roman law, the law of ancient Rome from the time of the founding of the city in 753
BCE until the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century CE. It remained in use in the Eastern,
or Byzantine, Empire until 1453. As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of
law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the East. It forms the basis for the law
codes of most countries of continental Europe (civil law) and derivative systems elsewhere.

Roman law used today

A few of the principles of Roman law that we still use today are, the right of personal
property, the validity of contracts, the right to vote, the legality of wills, the "right" to pay taxes,
the right of appeal and the legal status of corporations. An accused person had a right to a
defense and he was innocent until proven guilty.

Source: https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/roman-law/

CIVIL LAW
Civil law, or continental law, is the predominant system of law in the world, with its
origins in Roman law, and sets out a comprehensive system of rules, usually codified that are
applied and interpreted by judges. Modern systems are descendants of the nineteenth century
codification movement, during which the most important codes (most prominently the
Napoleonic Code and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) came into existence.
The civil law is based on Roman law, especially the Corpus Juris Civilis of Emperor
Justinian, as later developed through the Middle Ages by medieval legal scholars.
The Law Dictionary define that civil law as the body of laws of a state or nation dealing
with the rights of private citizens. As well-known civil law or also known as civilian law is a
legal system which is influenced by the Roman law and in especially the Corpus Juris Civilis of
Emperor Justinian and the developments during the middle ages. Corpus Juris Civilis which is
known as a basic or fundamental work in jurisprudence issued from the 529 to 534 by order of
Justinian I in the Byzantine Emperor. Then, the Justinian will gave orders which is collect the
legal materials of various kinds into several codes. After that, it will became the fundamental of
the act of making strong again of Roman law in the Middle Ages. Thus, the Roman law which is
to becoming strong again in turn, became the foundation of law in all civil jurisdictions.
 The Philippine legal system is a mixture of customary usage, Roman (civil law) and
Anglo-American (common law) systems, and Islamic law. The legal system is the result of the
immigration of Muslim Malays in the fourteenth century and the subsequent colonisation of the
islands by Spain and the United States. The civil law operates in areas such as family relations,
property, succession, contract and criminal law while statutes and principles of common law
origin are evident in such areas as constitutional law, procedure, corporations’ law, taxation,
insurance, labor relations, banking and currency.

Source: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/the-origin-of-civil-law-
law-essay.php
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/civil_law_(legal_system)

CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law, the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension,
charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to
convicted offenders.
Criminal law is only one of the devices by which organized societies protect the security
of individual interests and ensure the survival of the group. There are, in addition, the standards
of conduct instilled by family, school, and religion; the rules of the office and factory; the
regulations of civil life enforced by ordinary police powers; and the sanctions available through
tort actions. The distinction between criminal law and tort law is difficult to draw with real
precision, but in general one may say that a tort is a private injury whereas a crime is conceived
as an offense against the public, although the actual victim may be an individual.
The Sumerian people from what is now Iraq produced the earliest known example of a
written set of criminal laws. Their code, created around 2100-2050 BC, was the first to create a
distinction between criminal and civil wrongdoings. Civil law governs disputes between two or
more private parties (modern examples include contract disagreements and divorce proceedings),
while criminal law covers cases initiated by the state or federal government against an individual
that has harmed another person or the general public in some way.
In Europe, one of the earliest documents that highlights criminal law emerged after 1066
when William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England. By the 18th century,
European law began to specifically address criminal activity and the concept of trying criminals
in a court room setting began to develop. The English government created a system known as
common law, which is the process that establishes and updates rules that govern a group of
people. Common law covers both civil and criminal matters, and works through the creation and
continual revision and expansion of laws by judges as they make rulings on legal matters. These
rulings become precedents to help determine the outcomes of future cases.
Source:https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/criminal-law/history-of-criminal-
law/#:~:text=By%20the%2018th%20century%2C%20European,govern%20a%20group%20of
%20people

FEUDALISM
Feudalism is defined as the political organization prevailing in Europe that relates to the
lord and the vassal. Another way feudalism could be defined is as a social system during the
Middle Ages where people worked and fought for nobles, who would repay them by giving them
protection and use of their land. Feudalism is basically the system of landholding and governing.
Feudalism was depended on the obligations and rights of others. It was actually a two-
sided bargain where the landowner (which was sometimes called the lord) of the manor would
give his land, or fief to someone in trade for protection and other military services. The person
receiving the fief was called a vassal. A vassal could be anyone at all, as long as you're the one
receiving fief. A lord, however, was the landowner. He was in charge everything in the manor
including the fief. Fief was not just regular land, but land in particular that was obligated to be
given to a vassal.
1. There were four classes of feudalism in medieval times. They are the king, next tier was
the lord or baron, at the next tier was the Knights, and last was the peasants. At the first
tier was the king. The king was the one who owned all the land in the country, and was in
complete control of who leased the land, and who he will trust to use it. Before leasing
land, the king will first make the lord swear an oath of loyalty at all times, so that he
wouldn't be robbed or fooled.
2. Second tier consisted of the barons (which were sometimes called "lord", "nobles" or
"nobleman." These people received land from the king, and in return would give the king
money for rent, Knights when he needed, and would serve in the royal council. When
given lease or use of land from the king, they were in charge of such land, called a
manor. They gave land (called fief) to Knights in exchange for protection for their
families and military service. These barons were rich landholders for the king.
3. The third tier, or class of the feudal system were the knights. Knights were the ones who
defend the manor, and protected the barons and their family. They also helped the king
when demanded. They also provided military service towards them. They did this in
exchange for land, food and shelter for their families. Knights gave land to peasants and
serfs. They weren't rich as barons and kings, but they also weren't poor as peasants and
serfs.
4. At the last tier are the peasants and serfs. They were the poor people in feudal society.
They didn't have land, and couldn't own it. Peasants and serfs worked in the lord's manor
in exchange for fief, housing and farmland. They cared for the animals tended the land,
and did other works in order to help maintain the lord's estate. Not all peasant were serfs,
but all serfs were peasants. Serfs were people who were bound to the manor. They could
 not legally escape or leave the place which they had been born. They weren't slaves of the
lord, he couldn't buy or sell them. However, all their forced labor were for the lord.
Some advantages of feudalism are that it was stable. With the peasants and serfs both working
for the lord, provided the structure of feudalism. Without them, the lord wouldn't be able to hold
land, because they depended on the peasants and serfs to do so. With the peasants giving service
to the lords, while the lords gave them protection and housing. This way feudalism remained
stable and at a steady rate, because there were advantages on both sides of the bargain.
Source: https://worldhistory123321.weebly.com/feudalism.html

ENGLISH COMMON LAW

The English common law system is an unwritten practice of legal traditions that are based
on precedents set by legal decisions.
The English common law system dates back to the middle Ages. The term common
refers to unwritten laws that included the accepted behaviors, local customs, and traditions of
Great Britain. This system of legal decisions developed over centuries in England and was the
standard in Great Britain as well as British colonies throughout the globe. This system remains in
use within Great Britain and other countries that were former British colonies including, Canada,
Nigeria, the United States, and Australia.
Based on The Law Dictionary, common law can be define as the body or a system of law
that originated and develop in England by judges through court decision based on custom &
precedents, unwritten in statute and usages rather than on codified written laws. Actually, the
originally term of common law gets from after the Norman Conquest. Then, the term “common
law” was law that to become known as “common” throughout the realm as the king’s judges
which is to make law to join the separate parts together to make a unit common law throughout
England. Besides that, in England during the 12th and 13th centuries, the doctrine of precedent
was develop under the inquisitorial system. It is used as the collective judicial decisions which is
based on tradition, precedents and custom.
A part from that, the form of reasoning which is used in common law is well known as
casuistry or case- based reasoning. Common law which is used in civil cases was to intent new
way of doing which means of compensating someone for wrongly acts or known as torts.
Adversarial system were the type that used as procedure practice in the common law courts
which is also development of common law.

Source: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/the-origin-of-civil-law-
law-essay.php
https://study.com/academy/lesson/english-common-law-system-definition-
history.html#:~:text=The%20English%20common%20law%20system%20is%20an
%20unwritten%20practice%20of,precedents%20set%20by%20legal%20decisions.&text=This
%20system%20of%20legal%20decisions,British%20colonies%20throughout%20the%20globe