The humanitarian character of Mesopotamic legislation: an analysis of penal law under the third Ur dynasty

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15175/1984-2503-201911105

Keywords:

History of Law, Mesopotamia, Penal Law

Abstract

Legal codes written in cuneiform script are considered to be the world’s oldest legal documents, with the most famous of these known as the Code of Hammurabi. Employing the principle of ‘an eye for an eye”, the document is also considered to represent a step towards penal law governed by private revenge. The laws of Ur-Nammu, published around three centuries prior, do however foresee forms of punishment considered to be milder and more humane in comparison to concurrent and subsequent legislation. The following article aims to deconstruct the idea of legal evolutionism by emphasizing that legal documents from different periods do not necessarily follow an evolutionary logic, as Law does not consist of a single, constant fact in the unfolding of History.

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Author Biography

Gabriel Melo Viana, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP

Doutorando e Mestre em Direito pela Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Professor Titular de Teoria Geral do Direito Civil e Coordenador do Curso de Direito da UNIRB - Arapiraca.

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Published

2019-02-03

How to Cite

Viana, G. M. (2019). The humanitarian character of Mesopotamic legislation: an analysis of penal law under the third Ur dynasty. Passages: International Review of Political History and Legal Culture, 11(1), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.15175/1984-2503-201911105

Issue

Vol. 11 - No. 1 - Janeiro a Abril (2019)

Section

Articles

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