Guess the name of the character.

One of the leaders of French Revolution, he was the mastermind behind the Reign of Terror, in which most of the opponents to the French Revolution were executed in an orgy of blood A brilliant lawyer, he became a member of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793. Though not solely responsible for the Terror, he was its strongest advocate and arranged for a change in the law, which made witnesses unnecessary at tribunal hearings. In the next seven weeks nearly 1300 people were guillotined in Paris alone. On 27th July 1794, he went too far and was expelled from the Convention. He was shot in the jaw while being arrested, and after a night of agony was taken before the tribunal, condemned as an outlaw and sent immediately to the guillotine.

Part II

LAW STORIES 1. The First Laws

TASK 1. Read the text.

Rules and laws - and the conventions or customs from which they are descended - have been a part of human life ever since our ancestors first began to live in large and settled groups. But our knowledge is vague of laws that were in effect before the invention of writing in about 3500 B.C. The earliest known legal text was written by Ur-Nammu, a king of the Mesopotamian city of Ur, in about 2100 B.C. It dealt largely with compensation for bodily injuries, and with the penalties for witchcraft and runaway slaves.

TASK 2. Find in the the text the words that correspond to the following definitions.

- the use of magic power, esp. with the aid of evil spirits;

- punishment;

- an accepted social custom or practice;

- insubstantial, amorphous, indistinct,

- payment for damage or loss, restitution;

- discovery;

- jurisprudential, deriving authority from law;

- one from whom a person is descended.

TASK 3. Answer the questions and prove your point of view.

1. What is the difference between a rule and a law? Give five examples of each.

2. Can a society develop without rules (laws)?

3. Which of the statements do you think is true:

a) All the laws are situational. They suit only the given place at a given time.

b) There is some eternal law. It is good for all times and places.

TASK 4. Work in groups. Make a list of associations which arise with the word Babylon. Try to outnumber your opponents. Compare your notes. Where do your associations come from?

2. Laws of Babylon

TASK 1. Give English equivalents for the following words and expressions. Consult the text after you complete the task.

- кровная месть;

- состоять из;

- налог;

- налагать штраф;

- устанавливать закон;

- расплата;

- разборчивый, чёткий;

- составлять документ;

- лжесвидетель;

- наследство;

- храм.

One of the most detailed ancient legal codes was drawn up in about 1758 B.C. by Hammurabi, a king of Babylonia. The entire code, consisting of 282 paragraphs, was carved into a great stone pillar, which was set up in a temple to the Babylonian god Marduk so that it could be read by every citizen.

The pillar, lost for centuries after the fall of Babylon in the 16th century B.C., was rediscovered by a French archaeologist in 1901 amid the ruins of the Persian city of Susa. Hammurabi's words were still legible. The pillar is now in the Louvre museum in Paris.

The laws laid down by Hammurabi were more extensive than any that had gone before. They covered crime, divorce and marriage, the rights of slave owners and slaves, the settlement of debts, inheritance and property contracts; there were even regulations about taxes and the prices of goods.

Punishments under the code were often harsh. Not only murderers but also thieves and false accusers faced the death penalty. And a child who hit his father could expect to lose the hand that struck the blow.

Nevertheless, Hammurabi's laws represented an advance on earlier tribal customs, because the penalty could not be forfeit for an eye.

The code outlawed private blood feuds and banned the tradition by which a man could kidnap and keep the woman he wanted for his bride. In addition, the new laws took account of the circumstances of the offender as well as of the offence. So a lower-ranking citizen who lost a civil case would be fined less than an aristocrat in the same position - though he would also be awarded less if he won.

TASK 2. Answer the questions.

1. Why do you think Hammurabi decided to have his laws carved into a pillar?

2. List the spheres of human life covered by Hammurabi's code. Explain the choice.

3. Why do you think people of different ranks were treated differently by Hammurabi's code?