There are many legal systems in the world today, such as the Roman Law, the British Law, the Islamic Law, the Hindu Law, etc. Each of these systems is a product of a long and interesting historical evolution. They usually began in the customs prevalent among the tribes who later became nations and peoples, by coalescing with each other owing to conquest or religion. Later jurists, judges and commentators sifted out a definite body or code of laws from the earlier customs or religious teachings and precepts. Thus, these legal systems had evolved in the past, when there were no legislatures or law-making assemblies. They have deeply influenced and still influence the legal codes and laws in many countries of the world.
Roman Period
Roman Law is a Private Law. It originated in ancient Rome from the famous Twelve Tables. They were one of the earliest written laws based on the customs prevalent among the people of the city-State of Rome. They were published in 451 B.C., and became the corner-stone of the whole structure of the Roman Law. They were interpreted and developed by the judicial officers called the Praetors. When the city-State of Rome expanded into a vast Empire, and the foreigners settled in the city, the idea of the ‘law of nations’, called Jus Gentium, arose. It was that part of the private law of Rome which was adapted from the private laws of other nations.
The Jus Gentium gave the idea of the Law of Nature, or Jus Naturale, which played a great part in the growth of political philosophy and philosophical jurisprudence. In the meanwhile, Roman Law was further developed by the praetors, the jurist consuls, private jurists and the imperial edicts and decrees. Lastly, the Roman laws were codified by the Emperor Theodosius in the 4th century A.D. and by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century A.D., called Code Justinian. These codes made “wide and scientific provision for the establishment, recognition, and enforcement of individual rights and contract duties.”
Teutonic Period
In 6th century A.D., the old Roman Empire fell into pieces before the Teutonic or Germanic invaders. They settled in various parts of Europe and carved out new kingdoms and countries, now known as Spain, France, Italy, England, Austria, etc. A period of confusion and then of fusion of laws began. The new-Teutonic rulers allowed their Roman subjects to follow the old Roman Law as their personal law, while the Teutonic tribes followed their old Teutonic law.
This caused confusion at first. The Teutonic law was tribal and was based on tribal customs and traditions. In course of time, however, the two kinds of laws fused in such a way that the principles and methods of the Roman law became predominant. This process was aided by the Christian Church, the Latin language and by European feudalism which transformed the law from personal to territorial basis. At the same time the revival of the study of Roman Law and its great Codes, created the modem Roman Law, which became the most popular and most influential system of law in modem Europe.
Modern Period
In modern times, Roman Law has influenced the Private Laws of several European countries. The Code Napoleon (1904), the German Code and the Swiss Code are its best examples. They have been adapted or have influenced the private law codes of several other countries and colonies of France. In recent times, the Swiss Code has become the basis of the civil and criminal laws of modern Turkey, which has abandoned the Shariat Law of Islam.
British Common Law
The British system of laws has followed a different and independent course of development, and was only indirectly influenced by the Roman Law. The English are an insular people, arrogantly nationalistic in spirit from the very beginning of their history. Their judges and courts have always decided the cases on the basis of the customs prevalent in different parts of the country. Each new decision became a precedent for the settlement of similar cases in the future on the principle of stare decisis (old decision). Thus the English law, called the Common Law, has grown from precedent to precedent as case-law. The British system was influenced by the Roman Law through equity, which means remedial justice.
As Common Law was in many instances a cause of injustice or afforded no relief for an injury, the suitors appealed to the king directly as “the fountain of justice”. The kings referred these cases to the Lord Chancellors, who decided them on the principles of Roman Law, in which they were usually trained. Today, equity is used primarily to compel performance of a specific deed by means of writs or injunctions. In modem times, both Common Law and Equity are outgrown by the Parliamentary statutes, and even superseded by them. The British legal system has become the basis of the American law, and has influenced the Muslim and Hindu Laws of Indo-Pakistan sub-continent during the days of British domination. It has also been adopted by the white dominions of British Commonwealth, e.g., Australia, Canada, etc.
Hindu Law is another legal system. It is derived from Hindu Shastras, and is regarded by the Hindus as of divine inspiration. Its earliest code was compiled by Manu. It was later developed by Brahman commentators, which gave rise to two schools of Hindu jurisprudence, the Mitakshara -and the Dayabhaga. The advent of the British rule in India brought about many changes and adoptions in the ancient Hindu Law, which the British rulers declared as the personal law of their Hindu subjects of the Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent. At present, the Government of Bharat is actively engaged in the modernisation of Hindu Law. But it is also not a law in the strict sense. No sovereign legislator enacted it. It also contains much that is religious in nature.
Conclusion
We have reviewed above the evolution of three great legal systems of the world. They are mainly private laws, because the idea of constitutional, international and other kinds of public laws was either non¬existent or dim in ancient times and in the Middle Ages, when these systems arose and flourished. Besides them, there are several other systems in other parts of the globe, which have produced great differences between the civic and political life of the countries and nations of today. It would, indeed be a great day in the history of the world when the good points of the various legal systems might be unified into a single world code of laws, common for the whole mankind, based upon principles of reason, common- sense and justice. Nothing would unite the whole world into a Brotherhood of Mankind more than the promulgation of single legal code for the whole humanity. We shall now turn to one such attempt in the past to evolve a code of universal law. It is called the Law of Nature.