Lex talionis (literally the Latin for "law as retaliation") or law of retaliation is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide retaliation for an offended party. This early belief is reflected in the code of Hammurabi and in the laws of the Old Testament (e.g., Exod. 21:23-25. Lev. 24:18-21, Deut. 19:21). The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye". Legal codes following the principle of lex talionis have one thing in common: proscribed counterpunishment for an offense. In the famous legal code written by Hammurabi, the principle of exact reciprocity is very clear. For example, if a person caused the death of another person's child, that person's child would be put to death. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This diorite head is believed to represent king Hammurabi Hammurabi (also transliterated Hammu-rapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ... The phrase an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth expresses a form of retributive justice also known as lex talionis (Latin, law of retaliation). It may have originated in ancient near-Eastern and Middle Eastern law, such as Babylonian law. ...

Various ideas regarding the origins of lex talionis exist, but a common and accepted one is that it developed as early civilizations grew and a less well-established system for retribution of wrongs, feuds and vendettas, threatened the social fabric. Despite having been replaced with newer modes of legal theory, lex talionis systems served a critical purpose in the development of social systems — the establishment of a body whose purpose was to enact the retaliation and ensure that this was the only punishment. This body was the state in one of its earliest forms. Feud may also mean fief in reference to feudalism. ... A vendetta is a blood feud where relatives of someone who has been killed or otherwise wronged seek vengeance by killing or otherwise punishing the culprits or their relatives. ...

Examples

It is improper to say that lex talionis specifically refers to eye-for-an-eye codes of justice. Rather it applies to the broader class of legal systems that specify formulaic penalities for specific crimes. The simplest example is the eye for an eye principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime. Conversely, the twelve tables of Rome merely prescribed particular penalties for particular crimes. Under the British Common Law, successful plantiffs were entitled to repayment equal to their loss (in monetary terms). In the modern tort law system, this has been extended to translate non-economic losses into money as well. The phrase an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth expresses a form of retributive justice also known as lex talionis (Latin, law of retaliation). It may have originated in ancient near-Eastern and Middle Eastern law, such as Babylonian law. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. ...

An alternative

The only known alternative to lex talionis is the "correctional" prison system first instituted by the Americans in the early 20th century. Rather than retribution, this introduced the idea that the purpose of law enforcement is to correct the deviant nature of criminals by compelling them to reflect and regret their crimes during a lengthy incarceration.

Criticism

Some say that retaliation is unethical and that two wrongs do not make a right. Even though it may be hard to do in practice, Christianity teaches individuals to forgive those who wrong them, rather than seek retribution for a wrong. Some subscribe to the Golden Rule of ethics rather than any law of retaliation. Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Forgiveness has been described as a quality by which one ceases to feel resentment against another for a wrong he or she has committed against oneself. ... The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you This phrase can be found in Matthew 7:12 but the principle is as old as Mankind. ... Ethics is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ...

See also

• Retributive justice
• Code of Hammurabi