Question

Read the following passage from the Code of Hammurabi.

Which of the following conclusions about criminal law in
Babylon is most supported by this passage?
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.¹
1. The Code of Hammurabi, translated by L.W.King, 1915. Yale University: The Avalon
Project, last modified 2008, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp. Courtesy
of Yale Law School's Lillian Goldman Law Library.
A. Babylonian judges were punished for incorrect rulings.
B. Judges in Babylon were given lifetime appointments.
c. Babylonian judges only punished criminals
through violent means.
D. Judges in Babylon did not need to follow the law.
SUBMIT

Answer 1

The passage from the Code of Hammurabi indicates that Babylonian judges were punished for incorrect rulings.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage from the Code of Hammurabi indicates that if a judge makes an error in their decision and it is due to their own fault, they will be punished. They will have to pay twelve times the fine set in the case and will be publicly removed from the judge's bench. This suggests that in Babylonian society, judges were held accountable for their rulings. Therefore, option A, Babylonian judges were punished for incorrect rulings, is the most supported conclusion.

Learn more about Babylonian criminal law