Ancient legal thought :: equity, justice, and humaneness from Hammurabi and the pharaohs to Justinian and the Talmud /: Larry May.

May, Larry,

Ancient legal thought : equity, justice, and humaneness from Hammurabi and the pharaohs to Justinian and the Talmud / Larry May.

May, Larry, author.

2019

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Author

May, Larry, author.

Title

Ancient legal thought : equity, justice, and humaneness from Hammurabi and the pharaohs to Justinian and the Talmud / Larry May.

Imprint

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Description

1 online resource

Formatted Contents Note

Part A. Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt
Section I. Ancient procedural law
Ancient legal reasoning
Judging, trials, and assemblies
Oaths, ordeals, and truth
Section II. Freedom, equality, and legal status
Debt forgiveness and equity
Freedom and slavery
Class, legal status, and equality
Women's separate sphere
Section III. Crime and punishment
Complicity and conspiracy
Crime and Lex talionis
Capital punishment
Section IV. International justice
Ancient treaties and trust
Aggressive war and necessity
Part B. Ancient Greece and China
Section V. Law, justice, and equity
Custom and law in ancient Greece and China
Justice and equity
Trials, juries, and democratic assemblies
Section VI. Legal status
Citizens and aliens
Women
Slavery and democracy
Section VII. Responsibility and punishment
Causation and responsibility
Homicide and pollution
Justification, excuse, and mitigation
Hubris and impiety
Section VIII. War and amnesty
Amnesty, sanctuary, and exile
Justified war and the law of nations
Part C. India and the Roman republic
Section IX. Law, justice and equity
Law and its sources in ancient Roman and Indian law
Legal procedures and trials
Equity and justice
Section X. Legal status and social class
Legal status of women
Social class and slavery
Section XI. Responsibility and punishment
Political and moral crimes
Punishment, cruelty, and humaneness
Crimes concerning political and legal abuse
Section XII. War and treaties
Treaties, hostages, and keeping faith
The rules of war and the law of peoples
Part D. Rabbinic law and the Roman Empire
Section XIII. Justice, equity and conflict of laws
Law, morality, and religion
Dual legal regimes
The law and ancient legal scholars
Section XIV. Differential status
Women in Jewish and Roman thought
Slaves in Jewish and Roman legal thought
Section XV. Responsibility
Intention and causation in criminal law
Injury and murder
Public punishment, penal prisons, and police
Section XVI. Universal law at the end of ancient times
Universal law and human rights
The origins of the just war doctrine.

Summary

"Nearly four thousand years ago, kings in various ancient societies, especially in Mesopotamia (contemporary Iraq), faced a crisis of major proportions. Large portions of the population were horribly in debt, many being forced to sell themselves or their children into slavery to pay off their debts. The laws and customs seemed to support the commercial practices that allowed lenders to charge 20%-30% interest, and the law protected the lenders and gave no recourse for the indebted. Strict justice called for the creditors to receive what they were due. But another legal concept, the emerging idea of equity, seemed to call for a different result - the use of law as a vehicle to free people from economic oppression. Debt relief edicts were instituted - "clean-slate laws" as they were known - and are of obvious relevance today as well where crushing debt is a major issue underlying social inequality"--Provided by publisher.

Bibliography, etc. Note

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Source of Description

Title from digital title page (viewed on June 25, 2019).

Available in Other Form

Print version: May, Larry. Ancient legal thought. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2019

Access Note

Access restricted to subscribing institutions.

Linked Resources

Access provided by Berkeley Law Library.

Language

English