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).