The Sources of U.S. Law Chapter 15 Section 1

The Sources of our Laws Code of Hammurabi – It was the first set of written laws. It was written in Babylon in 1760 B.C. It established laws for everyday life and punishments if those laws were broken. Roman Law – Romans made law a science known as jurisprudence. It means the study of law. Over hundreds of years, the laws in Rome became very complicated. Emperor Justinian I in 533 A.D. organized the laws into an organized code called the Code of Justinian. 1200 years later, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte updated the Justinian Code and renamed it the Napoleonic Code. It spread all over Europe, and colonists brought it to the United States.

D. English Law – the most important source of American Law C. The Ten Commandments – They were moral rules given to the Hebrews by God. They are found in the Bible. Ideas like “Thou shalt not kill” are still evident in U.S. laws. D. English Law – the most important source of American Law English Common Law is a type of law based on precedents (court decisions) rather than written laws. In America, when judges make decisions on a case, they look back at previous cases much like the English did under common law. Parliament grew in power and the acts of Parliament became known as statutes. They became the dominant law in England. In America, our Congress issues statutes.