An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or other regroupement, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is orally transmitted. it comes from tribal times and it was passed down by mouth ...

Many cultures do have an oral law, while most contemporary legal systems have a formal written organisation. The oral tradition (from the Latin tradere = to transmit) is the typical instrument of transmission of the oral codes or, in a more general sense, is the complex of what a culture transmits of itself among the generations, "from father to son". This kind of transmission can be due to lack of other means (like for illiterate or criminal societies) or can be expressedly required by the same law. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Oral law in jurisprudence

From a legal point of view, an oral law can be:

• a habit, or custom with legal relevance or when the formal law expressly refers to it (but in this latter case, it is properly an indirect source of legal rights and obligations);
• a spoken command or order that has to be respected as a law (in most modern western legal systems, some dispositions can be issued by word in given cases of emergency).

An oral law, intended as a body of rules, can be admitted in jurisprudence as long as it shows some efficacy, therefore it needs that the law is public, the human action is evaluated by a judge (ordinarily producing a sentence according to the general interpretation of the law) and then a punishment has eventually to be put into effect. Some oral laws provide all these elements (for instance, some codes of conduct in use among criminal associations like mafia do have a well known law, a judge, a condemnation), while others usually miss some of them. A habit is the usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained. ... Custom has a number of meanings: A custom is a common practice among a group of people, especially depending on country, culture, time, and religion. ... A right is the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled or a thing to which one has a just claim. ... An obligation can be legal or moral. ... Law (from the late Old English lagu of probable North Germanic origin) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide... Jurisprudence is the scientific study of law through a philosophical lens. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. ... sexual abuse is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer as a response to something unwanted that the wrongdoer has done. ... The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra, which is literally Our Thing in the Italian language, is a organized criminal secret society which evolved in mid-19th century Sicily. ...

Oral law in Judaism

Main article: Oral Torah

Rabbinic Judaism holds that the books of the Tanakh (The Old Testament) were transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition, as relayed by the scholarly and other religious leaders of each generation. The "written law" (Torah she-bi-khtav תורה שבכתב) comprises the Torah and the rest of the Tanakh; the "Oral Law" (Torah she-be'al peh תורה שבעל פה) was ultimately recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. The interpretation of the Oral Law is thus considered as the authoritative reading of the Written Law. Further, Jewish Law is based on a "Written Law" together with an "Oral Law". Jewish law and tradition thus is not based on a literal reading of the Tanakh, but on the combined oral and written tradition. When Moses received all of the laws that would define the Jewish tradition, he also received the explanation of these laws. ... Rabbinic Judaism (or in Hebrew Yahadut Rabanit - יהדות רבנית) is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the written Torah as well as the Oral Law (the Mishnah, Talmuds and subsequent rabbinic decisions) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... Midrash (pl. ... An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or other regroupement, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is verbally transmitted. ... Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially Law. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...

See also

• Constitution
• Jurisprudence
• Oral tradition
• Revelation
  • Uncodified constitution

Jurisprudence is the scientific study of law through a philosophical lens. ... it comes from tribal times and it was passed down by mouth ... For information on the last book of the New Testament see the Book of Revelation. ... A constitution is a system, often codified in a written document, which establishes the rules and principles by which an organization is governed. ...

General

• Bibliography
  • J. Vansina (tr. Wright), "Oral Tradition" (London, 1965); id., "Oral Tradition as History" (Wisconsin, 1985)
  • R. Finnegan, "Oral Poetry" (Cambridge, 1977)
  • D.P. Henige "The Chronology of Oral Tradition" (Oxford, 1974); id., "Oral Historiography" (London, 1982)
  • J. Goody & I. Watt, in J. Goody (ed.), "Literacy in Traditional Societies" (Cambridge, 1968), 27-68
  • E. Tonkin, "Narrating our Pasts" (Cambridge, 1992).
  • The survey essay by Finnegan in "History and Theory" 10 (1970), 195-201.