Test 1 Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is the Rule of Law?
A principle of justice stating that the law is necessary to regulate society, that law applies equally to everyone, and that people are not governed by arbitrary power.
What are the three key components of the Rule of Law?
- Law is necessary to regulate society
- Law applies equally to everyone
- No arbitrary power governs individuals
What is the Code of Hammurabi?
One of the earliest-known legal codes created by King Hammurabi of Babylon around 1700 BCE, consisting of almost 300 laws.
What does restitution mean in legal terms?
Payment made by the offender to the victim of a crime.
What is the principle of retribution in law?
Justice based on punishment.
What is Mosaic Law?
Biblical law given to Moses to guide the Hebrew people, including the Ten Commandments.
What was significant about Ancient Greek law?
It introduced the first form of democracy and juries, but did not consider inequality an injustice.
What are the two basic principles of Roman Law?
- The law must be recorded
- Justice could not be left to judges alone
What is Justinian’s Code?
The clarification and organization of Roman law commissioned by Emperor Justinian I.
What is the Napoleonic Code?
The civil law of France completed in 1804, also known as the French Civil Code.
What is Trial by Combat?
Determining guilt or innocence by having the parties fight a duel.
What is Trial by Ordeal?
A method requiring a person to undergo torture to determine guilt or innocence.
Fill in the blank: Trial by _______ involves friends of the accused swearing on the Bible that the accused is innocent.
Oath
What is the Adversarial System?
A judicial process where two parties present their cases to an impartial decision maker.
What is the Divine Right of Kings?
The idea that the monarch is above the law and accountable only to God.
What are Assizes?
Traveling courts.
What is Common Law?
Law made up of oral dictations based on common sense, recorded as ‘case law’ by judges.
What does Stare Decisis mean?
A Latin phrase for standing by a decision one has made.
What is the Rule of Precedent?
Applying a previous decision to a case with similar circumstances for consistency.
What is the Magna Carta?
One of the first constitutions in recorded history, establishing civil and political rights.
What is Habeas Corpus?
A legal principle requiring the accused to be present in court and released if wrongfully arrested.
What is Aboriginal Law primarily based on?
Storytelling.
What is the Quebec Civil Code?
A separate code of laws for resolving private/provincial cases in Quebec.
What is Statute Law?
Formally written decisions passed by government as laws or acts.
