The system of laws as we know it today is based upon justice, fairness and morality. The principals that dictate these aspects are molded over many years of social progress. We lived and learned from past mistakes that span thousands of years. It is our long history and our study of it that form the basis of our legal system today. The most basic necessity for law is to maintain order, the most fundamental requisite for society to exist. And this can be seen in even the earliest civilizations to settle the earth. And it is within these early civilizations that we find the fundamental principals that molded our legal system today. But whether these early laws were fair or moral for all individuals in society can be questioned by today's standards.

One early civilization to exhibit a developed legal system as seen in recorded history is the Babylonians. The passages presented in the Law Code the Babylonian king Hammurabi shows that the basic ideas of justice and requirements for social order were already in place. The Babylonians viewed their ruler Hammurabi as a wise and virtuous endowed with the support of the gods. And under no circumstances were the laws that he pas

One of the greatest difference observed between Babylonian and Chinese laws are the degree of punishment for crimes. The Babylonians as mentioned before were extremely harsh and relied too much on the "eye for and eye" concept. The Chinese on the other hand had a much more evolved sense of crime. The Chinese sense of what is crime has more to do with the malignant intent of the wrong doer and not so much upon helping the victim get even. "All people who willfully commit crimes, robbing, stealing, practicing villainy or treason, or who kills others or do violence to them to seize their property, who are capable of any infamy even under penalty of death-such people are abhorred by all." And unlike the Babylonians, the Chinese saw grave punishment only as a last resort, "Apply heavy sentences or the death penalty only when it is just to do so; do not warp the laws to serve your own inclinations." The Chinese enforced the concept of punishing a wrong-doer while Babylonian law focused more on alleviating harm for the victim.

To the Chinese, law was not only a way of maintaining order but also one that is to dictate moral conduct of its citizens. It does not make its citizens fearful of committing a mistake unknowingly even when that person sets out with good intention, but rather questions himself in what is moral and ethical. This allowed room for improvement and allowed the sentiments of the people and their concepts of morality to play a major role that led to the further evolution of what is just. We can also see its influence in today's society in that we are able to amend our laws through the will of the majority.

The Chinese exhibited a more developed sense of what is moral or just but did not overlook the basics needed to maintain social order. The King was not supreme and human inclination towards self was also questioned. "Do not seek leisure, nor be fond of idle pleasures-thus may you care for your people. I have hear it said 'Discontent is caused not so much by things great or small, as by whether the ruler is magnanimous or not, or by whether he exerts himself on behalf of the people or not.'" In contrast to Hammurabi, King Wen was not directed support by Gods, but rather earned the approval of god through his just rule and influence. The role of the Chinese king is to serve the people and maintain order peace and most importantly harmony, as not seen in Babylonian culture. I would say that Chinese society was more aware of the ideas of morality and the "what ifs" that may occur with simply enforcing an inflexible code. That is not to say that the Chinese systems of laws were not infallible. They did have an outline of what is basically considered wrongdoing and most deserving of punish

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Approximate Word count = 1832
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)