Greek Justice System

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Although justice cannot be defined, many countries strive to demonstrate this concept through maintaining an effective legal system. The country of Greece did not begin with a written set of laws but rather the role of creating unwritten laws, to maintain society, fell into the hands of the citizens. This was unsuccessful for several reasons and, therefore, written Greek laws were created to serve the interests of the citizens. The first known written laws of Ancient Greece were created by Draco, the lawgiver; however, the laws formed were harsh and unreasonable. An Athenian statesman, Solon, altered Draco’s laws and introduced the justice system to establish democracy by making the Courts attainable to Greek citizens. Eventually, Greek laws …show more content…

They have influenced law, ethics, and religion from Ancient times. These three important philosophers have had a say on natural law during 428 BCE and 322 BCE. Prior to the existence of these significant philosophers, during 621 BCE, a legislator known as Draco created a body of laws for Athens. He produced the first written law code for this country, however, it was unsuccessful because of its inability to achieve justice. “Draco's laws were known for their cruelty and their bias towards the rich landowners as opposed to those who found themselves owing money” (Loizides, 2015). The laws written by Draco were outdated and unjust because of its severe punishments and homicide laws. The punishment for crimes that were minor to those which were more serious was death which was irrational and unjustly. During 594 BCE, an Athenian statesman known as Solon, altered the laws set by Draco through eliminating cruelty and encouraging a legal system that had an underlying foundation of democracy. Solon “is credited with restructuring the social and political organization of Athens and thereby laying the foundations for Athenian democracy” (Cartwright, 2016). This was the first major step for Greece towards achieving a legal system that was fair and righteous. Solon recognized the severity of Draco’s laws and modified them by eliminating unreasonable …show more content…

Philosophers of law “represent ancient, historical, and contemporary philosophies and all have influenced jurisprudence and contemporary legal thought in North America” (Blair, 2004). Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle have promoted their beliefs to a global scale, leaving an impact to this day. Jurisprudence, justice, and ethics have played a major role in these philosophers work which can be seen through their principles of natural law. “Natural law supporters assume that it is human nature to be good, that all people strive to be good, and that goodness is essential to our well-being” (Blair, 2004). Socrates did not produce any legal writings, however, his approach to the law can be seen through Plato’s Dialogues. In Socrates dialogue, he created a series of questions that resulted in no finite answer at the end of the discussion. “Socrates’ method of intellectual inquiry was to raise and discuss searching questions about customs, morals, and religious and political behaviours with the young men from the leading families in Athens” (Blair, 2004). His approach resulted in him to be imprisoned since his actions were seen as corrupting the youth and their morals. Through Plato’s Dialogues, Socrates’ strong belief in natural law can be witnessed when he decided to comply with the punishments that were given to him and did not follow through on a

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