Journal of Humanistic and Social Studies (Nov 2015)
The Evolution of Law
Abstract
The entire community acted according to rules because their disobedience had an influence on the survival of the entire community, as they had a powerful mystical and religious character. Sanction measures evolved along with the evolution of communities and they were applied to individuals who disobeyed and broke these rules. Thus, the first forms of human community used the death penalty (blood revenge) as means of punishment for serious violation of the rules of coexistence. Later on, death penalty was replaced with the individual’s expulsion from the community and as communities evolved, material redemption was used instead of expulsion. The first judicial norms (the germs of law) developed among these social cohabitation, organization and behaviour rules. Judicial norms differed from other rules due to their compulsory character and by appeal to the coercive force of the community when they were broken by certain individuals. The change of social, customized norms into judicial norms and the emergence of law as independent entity took place along with the occurrence of state and public power rooted in the Greek – Roman Antiquity. It has been set that law is a social phenomenon incidental to human society; thus, Romans have expressed this statement through the phrase: ubi societas, ibi jus, namely law occurs along with the society. Law, like society is not a static, immutable entity issued once and for all; it is under constant development and social-historical evolution. As social phenomenon, social law experiences a constant historical evolution, bearing the mark of historical periods and cultural, spiritual and religious features of nations.
