![]() ![]() Unlike direct retribution, however, the law is administered by the state or by individuals that cannot be victims of revenge in return. Hammurabi's code of laws is almost entirely based on the principle of equal and direct retribution it betrays the origin of law in retributive violence. In effect, the laws of the code seek to protect the weak and the poor against injustice at the hands of the rich and powerful the code is a remarkably just and humane set of laws for the time in which these laws were set forth. Indeed, it is likely that this principle was adopted wholesale by the Jews from their “captors,” and was one of many influences of the Babylonians upon Jewish culture. Insofar as the advocacy of Lex Talionis is concerned, the Code of Hammurabi reminds us of the stern Jewish law of “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” (Exodus 21:23) If he has caused a poor man to lose an eye, or has shattered a limb, let him pay one maneh of silver. Injuries of a poor man, however, could be atoned for in money: If he has knocked out the tooth of a man of rank, his tooth must be knocked out. If he has shattered the limb of a man of rank, let his own limb be broken. If a man has caused a man of rank to lose an eye, one of his own eyes must be struck out. Many of the laws were based on the principle of equal retaliation (Lex Talionis) - for example, a portion of the code reads: Rates are fixed in the code for various forms of service in most branches of trade and commerce. Penalties were imposed for injuries sustained through unsuccessful operations by physicians, and for damages caused by neglect in various trades. The code begins with direction for legal procedure and the statement of penalties for unjust accusations, false testimony, and injustice done by judges then follow laws concerning property rights, loans, deposits, and debts, domestic property, and family rights. Engraved on a block of black diorite nearly eight feet high, this is the earliest complete legal code known to history. This “ code” asserts that it was enacted by Hammurabi, Babylonian king of the twentieth century B.C.E. In 1901 C.E., a French explorer found at Susa an ancient set of Babylonian inscriptions containing 282 laws. Lex Talionis however, goes back to about the twentieth century B.C.E., found in the Code of Hammurabi. Usually we think of the goal of this law as a core element of early biblical justice. The simplest expression of Lex Talionis is the biblical injunction of "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" in Exodus 21:23. Lex Talionis means in Latin “the law of retaliation.” The concept of “the law of retaliation” refers to the idea that punishment for a misdeed should be based upon some form of equivalence, rather than simply unrestricted or random revenge. The best solution, though, is that all members of society follow the social and legal norms and thus retributive justice is no longer needed. The Lex Talionis, while not the perfect principle, still ensures that society's response does not exceed the original wrong. ![]() ![]() While Christianity, based on the word of Jesus in the New Testament, and other religions have brought the possibility of forgiveness and mercy into the picture, nonetheless legal systems continue to prescribe punishments to fit the crimes that continue to be committed. In other cultures, notable Islam, the code has been taken more literally a thief may lose his left hand in punishment In reference to torts, the Old Testament prescription "an eye for an eye" has often been interpreted, notably in Judaism, to mean equivalent monetary compensation, even to the exclusion of mirror punishment. This early belief is reflected in the Code of Hammurabi and in the laws of the Old Testament (such as Exodus 21:23–25, Leviticus 24:18–20, and Deuteronomy 19:21). It defined and restricted the extent of retaliation. The basis of this form of law is the principle of proportionate punishment, often expressed under the motto "Let the punishment fit the crime," which particularly applies to mirror punishments (which may or may not be proportional).Īt the root of the non-biblical form of this principle is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide equitable retaliation for an offended party. Lex Talionis (Latin for "law of retaliation") is the principle of retributive justice expressed in the phrase "an eye for an eye," (Hebrew: עין תחת עין) from Exodus 21:23–27. ![]()
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