Were Hammurabi's Property Laws Fair Or Unfair?

Hammurabi was the king of Babylon, about 4,000 years ago. He made one of the first law systems and carved them on stone steles. Hammurabi’s 282 Laws were unfair because of his Property Laws, Family Laws, and Personal Injury Laws. He claimed to protect the weak in his laws but he didn't. Here is why.

This is how Hammurabi’s Property Laws were unfair. In Law 48 it states that if a creditor lends crops to a farmer and the seeds are washed away, the farmer doesn’t have to pay the creditor for a year. This law is really unfair to the creditor because he is going to lose a lot of money. It should be the farmer fault for choosing to plant his crops when a storm may be near. Even if he didn’t know, he should still take responsibility. In Law 23, Hammurabi states that if a man has been robbed and the criminal is not caught, then he has to declare what he has lost to a god, and the mayor and the city must pay him back. This law isn’t fair to the mayor or society. They shouldn’t have to pay for someone else's loss of they don’t want to. They shouldn’t have to sacrifice money and supplies for a claim that could be fake. That's why Hammurabi’s Property Laws are unfair.

Hammurabi’s Family Laws are also unfair.

In Law 168, it states that if a man wants to kick his son out of the family, he must go before a judge and if the judge agrees that the kid has done something bad, he can kick him out. This law isn’t fair to society because now they have a random kid on the streets that someone has the take in and care for. It is the father’s fault for not raising him right and allowing him to do bad things. Also in Law 162, it states that if a man marries a woman, and they have a kid, if the woman then dies, her money goes to the sons. This is unfair to the husband because he was the one who married her, agreeing to support the family in a house and provide income. If the woman dies, the wealth is now going to the sons. That is why Hammurabi’s Family Laws were

unjust.

Finally on to Hammurabi’s Personal Injury Laws. In Law 218, it states that is a surgeon does surgery on a free man with a serious injury and the man dies, the surgeon’s hands shall be cut off. This makes me not want to be a surgeon. First of all, surgeries of high degree are risky today, even with the new technology. A well trained surgeon back then could have done everything right, but sometimes there is just nothing you can do. If that happens and the patient dies, he can say goodbye to his hands. Law 213 states that if a free man strikes a slave girl and causes the baby inside of her to die, he has to pay two shekels of silver. If this woman was of an older age and maybe couldn’t provide as much strength as a younger generation, this would devastate the slave family. They might now be able to continue the generation. The man should have to pay more. Once again, unfair laws.

These are the reasons that I believe that Hammurabi’s Laws are unjust. His Personal Injury Laws, Property Laws, and Family Laws are unfair because they don’t protect other people’s rights. The weak were left vulnerable and a lot of his laws were extremely cruel or mean. Truly just laws would protect all of society. That is my stance on Hammurabi’s Laws.