Part XX

To round out the picture of law, and of commerce and of social conditions in Babylonia and Assyria, we have for the older and later periods a large number of documents setting forth the judicial rulings in lawsuits brought before the tribunals. These documents reveal the practical workings of legal procedure in civil cases, for up to the present at least we have not come across any records of criminal procedure, and the question has been raised whether such records were kept.

The general form followed in cases brought before the courts was to begin with the statement of the case and of the claims made. The testimony on both sides was then set forth with the administering of the oath where called for, followed by the decision of the court.

There was commonly added an express prohibition against reopening the case, to which the party losing the suit consents by an oath. The names of the judges and witnesses together with the date as usual complete the record. The most important section in such documents is the portion relating to the evidence, which generally involves the production of legal documents and earlier court records bearing on the case.

In complicated affairs, such records often go back many years and there are instances in which a large number of documents are tested by the tribunal before reaching a decision. With the advance from purely religious tribunals to courts presided over by lay judges, as above pointed out, ^[1] and the increased prominence given to government officials, such as governors and city magistrates as against the former predominance of priests in the judicial affairs of the country, we also find a growth in the direction of finer distinctions and greater scrupulousness in reaching a conclusion that should be fair to the parties concerned.

Efforts are also made by the judges to bring about settlements by mutual concessions and by compromises so as to avoid bitter contests, which would entail delays and possibly hardships for both sides. On the whole, the picture thus resulting is that of a country in which a high sense of justice could be relied upon to protect those seeking a vindication of their rights.

Law and order prevailed in the land, and while we learn occasionally of instances of "graft" on the part of officials, as is natural in a land in which government activities cover so large a field, the general impression that one receives and this applies to Assyria as well as to Babylonia is that the citizens had a feeling of supreme confidence in the courts as safeguards, under whose protection the citizens could pursue their daily routine of barter and exchange, and carry on their activities in the various walks of life.

It is a significant testimony to the spirit of justice and right thus emphasized by the courts in the south and in the north that Assyrian rulers who appear most ruthless in their campaigns of conquests, apparently concerned to promote their selfish ambitions, yet pride themselves in their annals, as did Hammurapi in his code, that they protected the rights of their subjects and sought to secure justice and to suppress violence and wrong.

In a document ^[2] found in AshurbanapaFs library, setting forth certain special privileges accorded from olden days to the people of Sippar, Nippur and Babylon, some general sentiments as to the duty of kings are introduced which may be regarded as illustrating the prevailing point of view. We cannot do better than close our survey with an extract from this text:

"If the king does not hear the law, his people will perish, the power of the king will pass away.
If he does not heed the law of his land, Ea, ^[3] the king of destinies, will alter his destiny and cast him aside.
If he gives heed to the wicked, confusion will disturb the land.
If he follows the counsels of Ea, the great gods will aid him in righteous decrees and decisions."

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See above, p. 332.

[2]:

Cun. Texts, xv, PL 50.

[3]:

The god of humanity par excellence. See above, p. 210.