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The Status of the Code of Hammurabi

in Writing, Law, and Kingship in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia

This chapter analyzes the modalities of the composition of the Code of Hammurabi and the manner it was used in Babylonia during its author's time and after. It suggests that this code clearly belongs ... More

This chapter analyzes the modalities of the composition of the Code of Hammurabi and the manner it was used in Babylonia during its author's time and after. It suggests that this code clearly belongs to a religious ideology of the exercise of kingship as indicated in the beginning of the prologue. This chapter also investigates how the code of law was formed and identifies the purposes it served.Less

Vivādarṇavasetu and A Code of Gentoo Laws

Nandini Bhattacharyya Panda

in Appropriation and Invention of Tradition: The East India Company and Hindu Law in Early Colonial Bengal

The end product of the initiatives discussed in Chapter 2 was the first digest of ‘Hindu law’ in Sanskrit, the Vivādarṇavasetu, and its English rendering, The Code of Gentoo Laws. This chapter ... More

The end product of the initiatives discussed in Chapter 2 was the first digest of ‘Hindu law’ in Sanskrit, the Vivādarṇavasetu, and its English rendering, The Code of Gentoo Laws. This chapter focuses on three questions. First, whether the text and its English rendering reflected the ideology, interests, and inhibitions of the British officials, and if so, to what extent? Second, whether the codification continued the Dharmaśāstra tradition of discussing the norms and practices regarding property or whether it involved deviations that constituted an invention of tradition? Third, whether and to what extent the codification and its English rendering accommodated new issues relating to Hindu rules of property and inheritance?Less

Something There Is That Doesn't Love a Law: Canon Law and Its Discontents

John P. Beal

in The Crisis of Authority in Catholic Modernity

This chapter examines the intricacies of the Catholic Church's canon law. It first provides an overview of the Code of Canon Law and the criticisms hurled against it before turning to a discussion of ... More

This chapter examines the intricacies of the Catholic Church's canon law. It first provides an overview of the Code of Canon Law and the criticisms hurled against it before turning to a discussion of the discomfort of many contemporary Catholics when confronted with canon law. It then explores the social imaginary in which canon law is embedded, with particular emphasis on hierarchical order, the priority of community over individuals, the priority of “the Right” over rights, and structured inequality within the church. It also looks at benevolent despotism, the issue of of substantive vs. formal rationality, and paternalistic administration.Less

Towards a Second Code The Response to New Imperatives

Nandini Bhattacharyya Panda

in Appropriation and Invention of Tradition: The East India Company and Hindu Law in Early Colonial Bengal

This chapter explores the crucial factors that generated an incentive as well as a compulsion to compile a new code of ‘Hindu law’. It begins by analyzing changes in official attitudes, increasingly ... More

This chapter explores the crucial factors that generated an incentive as well as a compulsion to compile a new code of ‘Hindu law’. It begins by analyzing changes in official attitudes, increasingly favourable to the zamindars and leading towards a permanent settlement with them. It then discusses legal disputes that came before the law courts following the compilation of the first (The Code of Gentoo Laws). These cases demonstrate how complex the succession disputes were as also the fact that their solutions were not comprehensively spelt out in the first Code.Less

Vivādabhangārṇava and A Digest of Hindoo Laws

Nandini Bhattacharyya Panda

in Appropriation and Invention of Tradition: The East India Company and Hindu Law in Early Colonial Bengal

This chapter analyses the second compilation of ‘Hindu law’, the Vivādabhangārṇava and its translation A Digest of Hindoo Laws. Its aim is to trace how these texts internalized the ideas and ... More

This chapter analyses the second compilation of ‘Hindu law’, the Vivādabhangārṇava and its translation A Digest of Hindoo Laws. Its aim is to trace how these texts internalized the ideas and attitudes of the new generation of officials and accommodated those issues which were either absent from the Vivādarṇavasetu or not discussed satisfactorily in that compilation and the The Code of Gentoo Laws. The analysis also identifies the differences between the two texts in terms of how the themes selected and the way they were commented upon. It reveals how the second text undertook to incorporate certain issues that had been discussed in the courtroom and before the Revenue Council between 1772 and 1793.Less

The Ethical Views of Maimonides within the context of Islamicate Civilization

Lawrence V. Berman

in Perspectives on Maimonides: Philosophical and Historical Studies

This chapter examines the ethical views of Maimonides. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics had a decisive influence on Maimonides’ views, as did concepts found in biblical, talmudic, and post-talmudic ... More

This chapter examines the ethical views of Maimonides. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics had a decisive influence on Maimonides’ views, as did concepts found in biblical, talmudic, and post-talmudic literature. A major topic discussed in the Ethics is the goal for man, in general and in particular, aside from the importance of this subject for determining the kind of life the individual should pursue. A second major theme of the Ethics is the nature of the excellences or virtues of man in relation to practical activity and thinking. An underlying theme of the Ethics is that the happiness of the individual is ensured by proper laws which habituate the individual to proper behaviour in accordance with man’s nature. Maimonides’ principal works are his Commentary on the Mishnah, his Code of Jewish Law (Mishneh Torah), and his Guide of the Perplexed. In these works, which span Maimonides’ productivity over the course of his lifetime, the influence of the Ethics is marked. Thus, one sees how a central figure of Islamicate civilization, heir to the best in that civilization of an intellectual cast, was none the less receptive to the important influence of the Ethics. The chapter then discusses Maimonides’ concept of the ideal man in the light of the Ethics.Less

Introduction: The Historian's Task and Sources

in Writing, Law, and Kingship in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia

This introduction discusses the theme of this volume which is about the writing, codes of laws and kingship in Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period. This volume examines the question of ... More

This introduction discusses the theme of this volume which is about the writing, codes of laws and kingship in Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period. This volume examines the question of literacy in ancient Mesopotamia and discusses the status of the legal texts found in the archives. It investigates the role of sovereign as promulgator of the codes of laws and describes diplomatic life in the age of the Code of Hammurabi.Less

Conclusion: Customary Law in Hungary

Martyn Rady

in Customary Law in Hungary: Courts, Texts, and the Tripartitum

This chapter rehearses the main themes of the book, looking at the interplay of the written and unwritten law, judicial decisions and the composition of courts. Customary law in Hungary has now been ... More

This chapter rehearses the main themes of the book, looking at the interplay of the written and unwritten law, judicial decisions and the composition of courts. Customary law in Hungary has now been largely replaced by codified law. The chapter nevertheless indicates the way in which politicians and lawyers may still resort to the language of customary law in seeking to justify legislative programmes. The Conclusion highlights the contribution in this regard of the Communist lawyer, Gyula Eörsi, in respect of the 1959 Civil Code, and makes brief reference to the 2013 Civil Code, elucidating their rerspective appeals to a popular understanding of the law’s content.Less

Benedict XV: The Post-War World and the Church

John Pollard

in The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958

This chapter examines the Holy See’s critical response to the Versailles Peace Settlement of 1919 and to the subsequent territorial rearrangement of Europe. It also analyses in detail Benedict and ... More

This chapter examines the Holy See’s critical response to the Versailles Peace Settlement of 1919 and to the subsequent territorial rearrangement of Europe. It also analyses in detail Benedict and Gasparri’s relations with the powers in the post-war world, especially Britain, France, Germany and Italy, the USA and the USSR, and the so-called ‘successor states’. In this chapter the Vatican’s first responses to the persecution of the Church in Mexico and Russia are described. It then focuses on Benedict’s role as head of the Church, particularly his promulgation of the Code of Canon Law and continuation of the reform of the Roman curia. Especially interesting are the initiatives which he took in relation to the Eastern churches, both those in communion with Rome and those not, and his landmark encyclical on the missions, Maximum Illud. It concludes with an assessment of Benedict’s place in the history of the papacy.Less

Introduction

John Pollard

in The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958

This chapter begins with a summary of the aims and objectives of the volume and a historiographical review of the existing literature. It then examines the features, positive and negative, of the ... More

This chapter begins with a summary of the aims and objectives of the volume and a historiographical review of the existing literature. It then examines the features, positive and negative, of the legacy of the pontificate of Pius X (1903–14). In particular, it focuses on the longer-term effects of Pius X’s innovations in the liturgical field, his inauguration of the process of codifying Canon Law and his reform of the Roman curia, and his attempts to improve training for the priesthood. It also analyses the longer-term effects of the ‘modernist’ crisis that dominated his reign and the consequences for the papacy during the July crisis of 1914 of Pius X’s and Cardinal Merry Del Val’s mishandling of the Vatican’s diplomatic relations with states.Less