Code of Hammurabi: Procedure |
1. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban
upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.
2. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap
into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house.
But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who
had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall
take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.
3. If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what
he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death.
4. If he satisfy the elders to impose a fine of grain or money, he shall receive the fine
that the action produces.
5. If a judge try a case, reach a decision, and present his judgment in writing; if later
error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his own fault, then he shall pay
twelve times the fine set by him in the case, and he shall be publicly removed from the
judge's bench, and never again shall he sit there to render judgment.
108. If a tavern-keeper (feminine) does not accept corn according to gross weight in
payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the
corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water.
129. If a man's wife be surprised (in flagrante delicto) with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.
132. If the "finger is pointed" at a man's wife about another man, but she is not caught sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river for her husband.
142. If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not
congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is
guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then
no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's
house.
143. If she is not innocent, but leaves her husband, and ruins her house, neglecting her
husband, this woman shall be cast into the water.
155. If a man betroth a girl to his son, and his son have intercourse with her, but he (the father) afterward defile her, and be surprised, then he shall be bound and cast into the water (drowned).