Law

A Long time ago while still in the Garden of Eden and living on a vegetarian diet, the first man, Adam was informed by God that he could freely eat of the fruit of every tree - except one; "for on the day you eat of it, you will surely die". The first regulation issued to man was a dietary law.

A collection of laws called the Code of Hammurabi was established in Ancient Babylonia around 1754 BC. While notorious for its eye for an eye punishments and the removal of body parts of the guilty party, it was also one of the earliest pieces of written law to have it a requirement for an innocent person to be assumed innocent until proven guilty.

The earliest Anglo-Saxon code of law, known as the Laws of Aethelberht, was created in 602.

In Viking culture, everyone got together to make laws and settle disputes. They called it the "Thing."

Sweden had a legal official called the Lawspeaker (lagman in Swedish) whose job was to memorize and recite all of the laws and customs of their community.

The Lawspeaker was a prominent figure in medieval Scandinavia and played an important role in the legal system of Viking Age and medieval Sweden. Their main duty was to act as a judge and mediator in legal disputes, but they also had a responsibility to uphold and interpret the laws and customs of their community.

In the 1400s a law was set forth in Britain that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. Hence, 'the rule of thumb '.

 In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convened for the first time in 1790.

One of Napoleon's first priorities after coming to power was revising the outdated French legal system. He took the 14,000 existing French decrees and simplified them into a unified set of seven laws. The resulting code was a clear framework of laws regarding property, family, and personal rights, replacing an antiquated, confusing patchwork of feudal laws. This was the first time in modern history that a nation's laws applied equally to all citizens.

The code has since been amended but remains in effect in France. In the 200 years since it was enacted, the code has also influenced the laws of many states and countries, By 1960 more than 70 governments had patterned their own laws after them or used them verbatim.

The Quran specifies six hudud offences and their punishments; theft (amputation of the hand), illicit sexual relations (death by stoning or one hundred lashes), making unproven accusations of illicit sex (eighty lashes), drinking intoxicants (eighty lashes), apostasy (death for men, death or imprisonment for women, but it is not a hudud crime in all schools of sharia), and highway robbery (death).

Because of the overuse of the word "sorry" in Canada, Ontario lawmakers passed the "Apology Act" in 2009. Saying sorry could no longer be used against you in a court of law and that it represents "an expression of sympathy or regret” and not “an admission of fault or liability in connection with the matter to which the words or actions relate.”