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History of Law

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The history of law is the study of the development, evolution, and transformation of legal systems, principles, and practices over time. It examines the socio-political, cultural, and economic influences that shape legal frameworks and the administration of justice in various societies throughout history.
lightbulbAbout this topic
The history of law is the study of the development, evolution, and transformation of legal systems, principles, and practices over time. It examines the socio-political, cultural, and economic influences that shape legal frameworks and the administration of justice in various societies throughout history.

Key research themes

1. How did interpretive theories transform legal understanding and historiography of ancient and classical law?

This research area investigates the evolution from positivist and normativist conceptions of law—focusing on law as embodied texts or enactments—to hermeneutic and ontological paradigms emphasizing legal interpretation, historical context, and the dynamic interaction between law and social realities. It matters because it challenges static views of law, repositions legal texts within cultural and historical milieus, and broadens methodologies of legal history to incorporate philosophical hermeneutics and cultural theory.

Key finding: This paper articulates a fundamental dichotomy between positivist/normativist legal thinking that treats law primarily as an encapsulated textual corpus (codes, statutes) and the later hermeneutic paradigm that views law as... Read more
Key finding: This study reveals that historical ordinary legal officials often invoked 'laws of justice' considered universally valid moral laws with juridical force, a practice seemingly at odds with strict legal positivism. It argues... Read more
Key finding: Positioning legal history within a postdisciplinary frame informed by critical legal theory, this chapter proposes analyzing private law’s ideological dimensions historically by integrating social, political, and economic... Read more

2. What were the paradigm shifts and institutional innovations in the historical development of legal systems across different cultures?

This theme explores major historic transformations in legal thought and institutional structures, focusing on secularization, professionalization, codification processes, and the emergence of supranational legal organizations. Understanding these shifts is crucial for tracing the genealogy of modern law, the roots of legal authority, and the political purposes that law served in different civilizations and periods.

Key finding: This paper identifies Ancient Rome as the locus of a crucial paradigm shift toward secular, professional legal culture, decisively breaking with divine sanction and elevating legal expertise through a dedicated legal class... Read more
Key finding: By chronicling the 1950s creation of the ECSC as a novel supranational organization pooling coal and steel resources, this work highlights the emergence of international legal cooperation beyond traditional state sovereignty... Read more
Key finding: This study elucidates the continuity and adaptations between Roman legal institutions and later civil codes by analyzing the legatum liberationis—an inheritance-driven obligation to free a debtor—and the defenses available to... Read more

3. How have legal evidentiary and procedural practices reflected societal and cultural assumptions historically, including complicity and trial methods?

This theme addresses specific historical practices and concepts of legal proof and complicity that reveal the intersection of law, culture, and morality. It includes studies of unusual evidentiary methods, such as ordeals using alleged supernatural signs, and conceptualizations of complicity as a fluid and contextual category challenging binary legal categorizations. Such research illuminates how law historically negotiated uncertainty, moral ambiguity and political pressures.

Key finding: This article reconstructs the enduring use of the Bahrprobe, a medieval evidentiary ordeal whereby the corpse of a murder victim was believed to physically react (e.g., bleeding, reanimation) when touched by the perpetrator.... Read more
Key finding: Through a detailed case study of the Kastner trial (1953-58), this paper conceptualizes complicity as a fluid, historically contingent category characterized by ambiguous intention and shifting roles, which complicates binary... Read more
Key finding: This study analyzes 14th-century legal instructions issued by Brno City to towns within its legal circuit, focusing on the penetration of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices. Using detailed analysis of municipal... Read more

All papers in History of Law

Bu makale Hukuk-ı Aile Kararnamesi’ni bir yandan dönemin Osmanlı toplumunun ihtiyaçlarına çözüm arayan, diğer yandan Avrupa medeni kanunlarında yer alan bazı hükümleri Osmanlı aile hukukuna uyarlamaya çalışan bir metin olarak ele... more
Аннотация. Статья посвящена основным дискуссионным проблемам, связанным с понятиями «феодализм» и «Средние века» в современной медиевистике. Автор рассматривает понятие так называемого «классического» феодализма и делает вывод о... more
Dans la somme comparatiste sur Les mondes de l’esclavage récemment parue, Paulin Ismard reconnaissait que l’« on ne saurait contester les pouvoirs émancipateurs de l’accès au marché pour les esclaves » ; il précisait néanmoins que ceux-ci... more
More than 20 scholars have discussed several aspects of the complex relationship between Holy Roman Empire and Italy during Late Medieval and Early Modern Age, regarding old and new elements, various thematic fields, specific researches... more
La justicia colonial es vista como un monolito en el cual las instituciones parecen garantes del correcto orden social. Esta figura es puesta en duda a raiz de las multiples investigaciones en anos recientes que cuestionan la accion... more
Plantear un balance historiográfico sobre el estudio de la delincuencia medieval en Cataluña obliga, en primer lugar, a precisar el marco histórico, porque los estudios sobre este tema, si pretenden ir más allá de la mera descripción, no... more
The research project addresses the operational difficulties emerging in  administrative- public sector and the theme problem of air pollution, a topic that is increasingly occupying space in the news and public debates.
Ця стаття пишеться в рамках дисертаційного дослідження і є частиною комплексної роботи з дослідження європейського досвіду регулювання відносин у частині юридичного визнання зміни статі та гендерної ідентичності в історико-правовому... more
The aim of this article is to explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) development on the nature of cross-border relations in the context of global digitalization. Special attention is given to the analysis of challenges related... more
Egidia O c c h i p i n t i: A Note on the Quire of P.Bodmer 45-47 and 27 .. Application for the Appointment of a Guardian (tutor ad actum) (Taf. 20) Amphilochios P a p a t h o m a s -Marianna T h o m a: Erstedition eines... more
The essay aims at outlining Filippo Vassalli’s activity and ideas during the years of democratic transition in Italy. By investigating his commitment in the defence of several Senators, who lost their parliamentary charge due to the purge... more
El derecho mercantil es un conjunto de normas que regula la actividad comercial y las relaciones jurídicas derivadas de esta. Su origen se remonta al Código de Hammurabi y ha evolucionado a lo largo de la historia, adaptándose a las... more
Müslüman dünyada 19. ve 20. yüzyılda yaşanan köklü siyasi ve hukuki değişimler sebebiyle günümüzde İslam hukukunun oldukça sınırlı alanları Müslüman-çoğunluklu ülkelerde uygulanmaktadır. Bu alanlar içinde en yaygın olarak tatbik edileni... more
Primjenom prozopografskog pristupa analizira se skupina od osamnaest Dubrovčana koji su studirali pravo u drugoj polovici 14. i 15. stoljeća. Uz razne druge elemente njihova životopisa, posebno se ispituje kojem su staležu i sloju... more
Primjenom prozopografskog pristupa analizira se skupina od osamnaest Dubrovčana koji su studirali pravo u drugoj polovici 14. i 15. stoljeća. Uz razne druge elemente njihova životopisa, posebno se ispituje kojem su staležu i sloju... more
Il democristiano Moro, che fu primo ministro nei primi anni '70, rappresentò una corrente nella D.C., incline a sottolineare le somiglianze tra i due partiti, D.C. e P.C.I. (come descritto nel capitolo 1 3*). Non si oppose a un possibile... more
La legislazione con la quale il legislatore desidera stabilire qualcosa per quanto riguarda l'ordine nella società fu la legislazione che i partiti politici sfruttarono maggiormente durante gli anni '70. A causa del peso assoluto che i... more
This article presents a comparative analysis of the legal systems of Greece and the United States, tracing their parallel evolution from ancient Greek foundations to contemporary challenges. It begins by examining the democratic... more
SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione: disuguaglianza come il vero e proprio “dipinto” della società brasiliana. – 2. Concetto e metodo di applicazione della cultura giuridica nel rapporto tra Brasile coloniale e Brasile contemporaneo. – 3. Simbolico... more
Cet ouvrage est issu du colloque « Les bibliothèques des juristes / Law's Libraries » organisé les 18 et 19 novembre 2022 par le Centre Paul-André Crépeau de droit privé et comparé (Université McGill) et le Groupe de recherche sur les... more
This study aims to determine the form of existence as a semiotic regime. The form of existence is an arrangement of properties, belonging to various analysis modules, whose entity refers to a code, thus serving as an isotopy in relation... more
Una disamina a due facce la prima una pars destruens sulla sua inesistenza dall'iconografia a nome poi una seconda piu' possibile con una via di mezzo era una Santa mistica dalla val d'Orcia ceduta al piu' celebrato Lucchese?
This process involves the participation of official authorities who extract the concept of the legal from social relations and appropriate it for self-constitution and implementation. At the next development stage, law becomes positive,... more
Este artigo investiga especificidades regionais do coronelismo da Primeira República a partir da experiência histórica do Rio Grande do Sul. A historiografia sobre o coronelismo apresenta interpretações bastante divergentes, contendo, por... more
QUADERNI FIORENTINI per la storia del pensiero giuridico moderno 54 (2025) PIER GIUSEPPE PUGGIONI IL GIURISTA DEMIURGO. PLURALISMO, SOVRANITÀ E POLITICA DEL DIRITTO IN FILIPPO VASSALLI 1. Premesse. Vassalli nella teoria del diritto del... more
Isaac Asimov's robot stories are widely read as offering significant insights for contemporary AI ethics research, yet his Galactic Empire stories are rarely referenced in space ethics. This paper demonstrates that within the late... more
In una sorta di bilancio tracciato a poco più di dieci anni dal Convegno catanese del 1972 su L'uso alternativo del diritto ( 1 ), Pietro Barcellona, che di quell'incontro era stato ideatore e promotore, offriva un quadro dettagliato di... more
The article addresses the request for granting rights to the citizens of Spain made to parliament during the government of Martínez de la Rosa, paying special attention to the debate that such a request sparked in the Cortes.
In Indian tradition use of dandaniti, is considered an obligation to check the criminal, protect the helpless, and restore social order. Such a use of force is considered constructive as it strengthens orderly conduct by restraining... more
The article aims to clarify the progress of negotiations between the delegation of the Zaporozhian Host and the tsar government, which took place in Moscow in the autumn of 1665. To reconstruct the final stage of the discussion of the new... more
It is still a common practice nowadays in the egyptological scholarly discourse to take at face value the statements of prominent ancient sources, which involves a naïve perception that provides misleading interpretations that do little... more
Livia Orla (Torino, 1991) ha conseguito il dottorato in Scienze archeologiche, storiche e storico-artistiche, curriculum storia medievale, presso l'Università degli Studi di Torino. Attualmente lavora come archivista storica e... more
Ozet Turk hukuk tarihinde kadinin statusu gecmisten gunumuze onemli degisikliklere ugramistir. Eski Turklerde kadin gerek aile icinde gerekse devlet yonetiminde onemli bir yere sahip olmustur. Osmanli uygulamasinda kadinin hukuki statusu... more
Dawud bin Mahmud bin Muhammad" also known as "Dawud Qayseri" was invited by Orhan Gazi to the the first medrese to be established in Iznik, which was conquered by the Ottomans in 1331. Thus, he served as the first Ottoman scholar. The... more
Notwithstanding the claims of politicians and media pundits, the health and well-being of the nation in the waning years of the 20th century are threatened less by a crime wave than a punishment wave. 1 A punishment
En este texto quiero ofrecer un análisis del proyecto del tratado Sobre la igualdad de los dos sexos. Un discurso físico y moral en el que se ve la importancia de deshacerse de los prejuicios, escrito por François Poulain de La Barre y... more
Notcom is a podcast about the history of science and philosophy which focuses on the practices, methods, and epistemologies of collaborative science in the classical age. Failed experiments, conflicts among intellectuals, and public... more
La ausencia de capacidad jurídica de la mujer en el Derecho romano clásico se metamorfosea en el favorecimiento de su condición social aportado por el Cristianismo, corriente que influye decisivamente en la visión que de las féminas... more
This article is a study of some atypical matrimonial cases from the 18th century that were heard by the ecclesiastical court of the Polish-Lithuanian diocese of Lutsk, l have included among the atypical cases all those that were not... more
"Ορεστιάδα: Παρελθόν, Παρόν, Μέλλον" Επιμέλεια: Ευάγγελος Μανωλάς ΝΕΑ ΟΡΕΣΤΙΑΔΑ 2023 Πρακτικά 5 ου Πανελλήνιου Συνεδρίου Ιστορίας και Πολιτισμού της Ορεστιάδας «Ορεστιάδα: Παρελθόν, Παρόν, Μέλλον
Resumo: O Nordeste como um todo apresenta-se por suas diversidades de estado para estado, quanto de regiões a realidades locais. Pensando nisto, como em outros fatores, este trabalho constrói uma reflexão acerca das práticas de cura, em... more
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