Law, Athenian
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23751032 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adriaan Lanni (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Pages | 1-2 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah13145.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W4256461051 |
| ISBN | 9781444338386 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
The most distinctive feature of the classical Athenian legal system was its pervasive amateurism. With few exceptions, litigants represented themselves in court before a jury of laymen who operated without the assistance of a judge or legal expert to instruct them as to the laws. Litigants were responsible for finding and quoting any laws they thought helped their case, though there was no obligation to refer to the law under which the case was brought. Even discussions of the specific charge at issue left much to the discretion of the jury because Athenian laws were, by modern standards, shockingly vague. A simple majority vote of the jury, taken without deliberation, determined the outcome of the trial. No reasons for the verdict were given, and there was no provision for appeal.
Appeal · Deliberation · Discretion · Hung jury · Jury · Obligation · Political science · Verdict · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Law
| Highly cited | No |
|---|