Law

== History ==
{{main|Legal history}}
[[File:Milkau Oberer Teil der Stele mit dem Text von Hammurapis Gesetzescode 369-2.jpg|thumb|King [[Hammurabi]] is revealed the [[Code of Hammurabi|code of laws]] by the Mesopotamian sun god [[Shamash]], also revered as the god of justice.]]

The history of law links closely to the development of [[civilization]]. [[Ancient Egypt]]ian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, was based on the concept of [[Ma'at]] and characterised by tradition, [[rhetoric]]al speech, social equality and impartiality.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Théodoridés|title = law | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt}}</ref><ref>VerSteeg, ''Law in ancient Egypt''</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lippert |first1=Sandra |title=Egyptian Law, Saite to Roman Periods |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |date=11 February 2016 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.013.48 |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-993539-0 |language=en |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103123820/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935390-e-48 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 22nd century&nbsp;BC, the ancient [[Sumer]]ian ruler [[Ur-Nammu]] had formulated the first [[Code of Ur-Nammu|law code]], which consisted of [[Casuistry|casuistic]] statements ("if … then ..."). Around 1760&nbsp;BC, [[Hammurabi|King Hammurabi]] further developed [[Babylonian law]], by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as [[Stele|stelae]], for the entire public to see; this became known as the [[Code of Hammurabi|Codex Hammurabi]]. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in the 19th century by British [[Assyriologists]], and has since been fully [[transliterated]] and translated into various languages, including English, Italian, German, and French.{{sfn|Richardson|2004|p=11}}

The [[Old Testament]] dates back to 1280&nbsp;BC and takes the form of moral imperatives as recommendations for a good society. The small [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city-state, ancient [[History of Athens|Athens]], from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and [[Slavery in ancient Greece|enslaved people]]. However, Athens had no legal science or single word for "law",{{sfn|Kelly|1992|pp=5–6}} relying instead on the three-way distinction between divine law (''thémis''), human decree (''nomos'') and custom (''díkē'').{{sfn|Mallory|1997|p=346}} Yet [[Ancient Greek law]] contained major [[Solonian Constitution|constitutional]] innovations in the development of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]].{{sfn|Ober|1996|p=121}}

[[Roman law]] was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were developed by professional jurists and were highly sophisticated.{{sfn|Kelly|1992|p=39}}{{sfn|Stein|1999|p=1}} Over the centuries between the rise and decline of the [[Roman Empire]], law was adapted to cope with the changing social situations and underwent major codification under [[Theodosius II]] and [[Justinian I]].{{efn|As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law worldwide. It also forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental Europe and has played an important role in the creation of the idea of a common European culture (Stein, ''Roman Law in European History'', 2, 104–107).}} Although codes were replaced by [[custom (law)|custom]] and [[case law]] during the [[Early Middle Ages]], Roman law was rediscovered around the 11th century when medieval legal scholars began to research Roman codes and adapt their concepts to the [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]], giving birth to the {{lang|la|[[jus commune]]}}. Latin [[legal maxim]]s (called [[brocard (law)|brocards]]) were compiled for guidance. In medieval England, royal courts developed a body of [[precedent]] which later became the [[common law]]. A Europe-wide [[Law Merchant]] was formed so that merchants could trade with common standards of practice rather than with the many splintered facets of local laws. The Law Merchant, a precursor to modern commercial law, emphasised the freedom to contract and alienability of property.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|first1= M. A.|last1= Clarke|first2= R. J. A.|last2= Hooley|first3= R. J. C.|last3= Munday|first4= L. S.|last4= Sealy|first5= A. M.|last5= Tettenborn|first6= P. G.|last6= Turner|title= Commercial Law|page= 14|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2017|isbn= 9780199692088|access-date= 10 December 2020|archive-date= 15 April 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014329/https://books.google.com/books?id=hgapDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|url-status= live}}</ref> As [[nationalism]] grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. The [[Napoleonic Code|Napoleonic]] and [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch|German]] Codes became the most influential. In contrast to English common law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and easy for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are converging.{{sfn|Mattei|1997|p=71}} EU law is codified in treaties, but develops through ''de facto'' precedent laid down by the [[European Court of Justice]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Karen |title=Precedent at the Court of Justice of the European Union: The Linguistic Aspect |journal=Law and Language: Current Legal Issues |date=21 February 2013 |volume=15 |issue=29 |isbn=9780199673667 |url=https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |access-date=1 January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101105552/https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673667.001.0001/acprof-9780199673667-chapter-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Constitution of India.jpg|thumb|The [[Constitution of India]] is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words.]]

Ancient [[Law of India|India]] and [[Chinese law|China]] represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had independent schools of legal theory and practice. The ''[[Arthashastra]]'', probably compiled around 100&nbsp;AD (although it contains older material), and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' (c.&nbsp;100–300&nbsp;AD) were foundational treatises in India, and comprise texts considered authoritative legal guidance.<ref>For discussion of the composition and dating of these sources, see Olivelle, ''Manu's Code of Law'', 18–25.</ref> Manu's central philosophy was tolerance and [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]], and was cited across Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=276}} During the [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]], [[sharia]] was established by the Muslim sultanates and empires, most notably [[Mughal Empire]]'s [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]], compiled by emperor [[Aurangzeb]] and various scholars of Islam.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapra|first1=Muhammad Umer|title=Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance|date=2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781783475728|pages=62–63|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Roy|title=Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136950360}}</ref> In India, the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] legal tradition, along with Islamic law, were both supplanted by common law when India [[British Raj|became part]] of the [[British Empire]].{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=273}} Malaysia, Brunei, [[Law of Singapore|Singapore]] and [[Law of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] also adopted the common law system. The eastern Asia legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=287}} Japan was the first country to begin modernising its legal system along western lines, by importing parts of the [[Code Civil|French]], but mostly the German Civil Code.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=304}} This partly reflected Germany's status as a rising power in the late 19th century.

Similarly, [[traditional Chinese law]] gave way to westernisation towards the final years of the [[Qing Dynasty]] in the form of six private law codes based mainly on the Japanese model of German law.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=305}} Today [[Law of the Republic of China|Taiwanese law]] retains the closest affinity to the codifications from that period, because of the split between [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s nationalists, who fled there, and [[Mao Zedong]]'s communists who won control of the mainland in 1949. The current legal infrastructure in the People's Republic of China was heavily influenced by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Socialist law]], which essentially prioritises [[administrative law]] at the expense of private law rights.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=307}} Due to rapid industrialisation, today China is undergoing a process of reform, at least in terms of economic, if not social and political, rights. A new contract code in 1999 represented a move away from administrative domination.{{sfn|Glenn|2000|p=309}} Furthermore, after negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the [[World Trade Organization]].{{sfn|Farah|2006|pp=263–304}}