SOC 1500 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Eye For An Eye, Indictable Offence, Precedent

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1500
• Professor: Amir Mostaghim

Document Summary

Code of hammurabi: the first criminal code developed in babylonia about 2000 bce. Lex talionis: punishment based on physical retaliation ( an eye for an eye ) Mosaic code: by tradition, the covenant between god and the tribes of israel in which they agreed to obey his law in return for god"s special care and protection. Wergild: under medieval law, the money paid by the offender to compensate the victim and the state for a criminal offence. Oath-helpers: during the middle ages, groups of 12 to 25 people who would support the accused"s innocence. Stare decisis: the principle that the courts are bound to follow the law as established in previously decided cases (precedent) unless the law was overruled by a higher power. Common law: early english law that was developed by judges and incorporated anglo-saxon tribal custom, feudal rules and practices, and the everyday rules of behaviour of local villages.