Law codes have been fundamental to the governance of societies and for the preservation of order and structure throughout the ages. One such agency, which is thought to be categorically influential to the legal expansion of Western culture is known as Justinian’s Code (Berkeley Law, n.d., para. 9). Justinian understood the great need for laws, and wanted to utilize those that had already been established, which included the Twelve Tables. However, because they were in a disheveled state, he set out to systematize these existing laws and create new ones to accommodate the modern challenges that they were facing (McKay et al., 2014, p. 210). In addition to Justinian’s Code and the Twelve Tables, there were two other prominent Law systems that
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Yet, in Mosaic Law, the idea was to honor God with fear and reverence, and to obey His commands for their own good. In the case of Justinian’s, it was focused on running a good society for the betterment of the empire, the people and the influence of nations outside of the governmental realm. In other words, it was there to give structure and maintain a form of civilized control. In fact, Halsall (1998) noted that in Justinian’s Code the, “maxims of law are these: to live honesty, to hurt no one, to give everyone his due”. Additionally, when it concerns who gave the laws, the Mosaic Law was given by the Lord and was completely static, whereas Justinian’s Code, though it was resolute, was taken from older, historical Roman laws and then combined with newer, more pertinent laws concerning societal transformation (Fader, 2004, para. 1). So in essence, the laws of God were fixed, whereas the Justinian’s Code was more impermanent. Furthermore, the Mosaic Law proposed the idea that the authority is essentially God Himself, whereas Justinian’s code had two different branches under council; these two branches were public and private law governing civilian cases as well as government. And the Mosaic Law was all-encompassing in scope and primarily for the Jewish people. For example, there are commands in the Mosaic Law …show more content…
However, though Justinian wanted to use them, he needed to make amendments because of changing times and the different needs for a growing populace. For example, the Twelve Tables commanded a father to kill his child if that child were born with a deformity of some kind (Halsall, 1998, para. 11). Whereas, Justinian’s Code ordained that power to be in the hands of the parents (Gaius & Mears, 1994, p. 270). Additionally, the Twelve Tables were formed as the foundational governance guidelines for the early Roman Republic. Because of their effectiveness, Justinian did not want to lose their value and so he prescribed jurists to oversee the preservation and implementation into the Justinian Code. As mentioned, where they are different is, the Twelve Tables cover foundational aspects of a Republic culture, and the Justinian Code improved upon that. And so the overall idea was to incorporate the Twelve Tables into the new Code, but to use the knowledge they had gained since they were written and improve upon that for future societal legal
Yet, in Mosaic Law, the idea was to honor God with fear and reverence, and to obey His commands for their own good. In the case of Justinian’s, it was focused on running a good society for the betterment of the empire, the people and the influence of nations outside of the governmental realm. In other words, it was there to give structure and maintain a form of civilized control. In fact, Halsall (1998) noted that in Justinian’s Code the, “maxims of law are these: to live honesty, to hurt no one, to give everyone his due”. Additionally, when it concerns who gave the laws, the Mosaic Law was given by the Lord and was completely static, whereas Justinian’s Code, though it was resolute, was taken from older, historical Roman laws and then combined with newer, more pertinent laws concerning societal transformation (Fader, 2004, para. 1). So in essence, the laws of God were fixed, whereas the Justinian’s Code was more impermanent. Furthermore, the Mosaic Law proposed the idea that the authority is essentially God Himself, whereas Justinian’s code had two different branches under council; these two branches were public and private law governing civilian cases as well as government. And the Mosaic Law was all-encompassing in scope and primarily for the Jewish people. For example, there are commands in the Mosaic Law …show more content…
However, though Justinian wanted to use them, he needed to make amendments because of changing times and the different needs for a growing populace. For example, the Twelve Tables commanded a father to kill his child if that child were born with a deformity of some kind (Halsall, 1998, para. 11). Whereas, Justinian’s Code ordained that power to be in the hands of the parents (Gaius & Mears, 1994, p. 270). Additionally, the Twelve Tables were formed as the foundational governance guidelines for the early Roman Republic. Because of their effectiveness, Justinian did not want to lose their value and so he prescribed jurists to oversee the preservation and implementation into the Justinian Code. As mentioned, where they are different is, the Twelve Tables cover foundational aspects of a Republic culture, and the Justinian Code improved upon that. And so the overall idea was to incorporate the Twelve Tables into the new Code, but to use the knowledge they had gained since they were written and improve upon that for future societal legal