2.1 The Origin of Law and Jurisprudence

Legal rules have been around for thousands of years, starting with basic ideas about right and wrong and growing into detailed systems of rules used worldwide today. To understand why some laws exist and how new ones are created, we need to look at where law began and how it has changed over time.

The Inception of the Law

The idea of law started in early human societies, where people followed unwritten rules to keep order. These groups didn’t have official laws like we do today, but they relied on tribal leaders, shared traditions, and group decisions to solve disputes. Early rules were often connected to religious beliefs and cultural customs, shaping how people behaved. For example, historians believe that hunters in ancient tribes were expected to share their food with the group when they returned. If a hunter refused to share, they could be punished or even excluded from the tribe. This made sure everyone contributed and followed the unwritten rules, working like an early form of law.

As societies grew, people started writing down laws instead of just passing them through word of mouth. Around 2100–2050 BCE, the Code of Ur-Nammu in Mesopotamia became one of the first written legal systems, followed by the more famous Code of Hammurabi in 1754 BCE. These codes set clear rules about what people could and couldn’t do, along with specific punishments for breaking them.

Similarly, Roman law played a huge role in shaping the legal systems we have today. In the 6th century CE, Emperor Justinian I put together a collection of laws called the Corpus Juris Civilis, which is where much of modern civil law comes from. Roman law focused on key areas like property rights, contracts, and legal disputes, and its influence can still be seen in European law today.