Hammurabi, The Justinian Law By St. Thomas Aquinas

Canadian law has changed drastically since it was first made, but have you ever wondered what significant events and people influenced our Canadian Law today? The Code of Hammurabi, the Justinian Law by the Romans and the Canon Law by St. Thomas Aquinas are all important events and people that shaped current Canadian law. The Code of Hammurabi was the first time laws were written down for everyone to see. Unlike in Babylon 1800 B.C. where the code was written on a rock, today you can find laws and bills in important documents and on the internet. Due to the laws written on a rock, they were not easily changed just like here in Canada today. Passing and changing a bill can take quite some time. The assisted suicide bill took 12 years of reforming
and editing to be passed, People in high authority like judges could also be charged and removed from their job if they were to wrongly deliver a sentence or not do job properly. Less sever punishments were introduced unlike the very common death sentence to every crime.
The death penalty is illegal today in Canada. Just like the code of Hammurabi, The Justinian Law by the Romans states that laws must be recorded. People should be treated equally in the eyes of law regardless of their class. The famous and still used rule today is that a person is innocent until proven guilty comes from the Justinian law. The accuser must have serious evidence to prove someone guilty but until then, they are not. Moreover, justice cannot be left in the hands of judges alone to interpret the outcome of cases. In court, the judge is not the only one making the verdict but also a jury who gets an input. People have also contributed to influencing Canadian law today like St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas believed that there should be four characterises to laws: must me reasonable, for common good, made my competent authority, and enforced and followed. Laws are still seemed as reasonable and for common good today. Laws are placed to ensure peoples safety and rights. The government makes these laws, who are a competent authority. They are elected or chosen because of their qualifications and ideas to improve the government and
nation. Moreover, the government makes sure everyone knows and follows these laws. People know not to go shoplifting because they will be fined and/or arrested. This is a law that is reasonable, for common good, made by competent authority and something everyone knows and mostly follows. All these significant events and people like The Code of Hammurabi, the Justinian Law and St. Thomas Aquinas have helped shape Canadian law to what it is today.