Page "Code of Hammurabi" Paragraph 11

The code has been seen as an early example of a fundamental law regulating a government — i. e., a primitive form of what is now known as a constitution.

The code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, and it also suggests that both the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence.

The occasional nature of many provisions suggests that the Code may be better read as a codification of supplementary judicial decisions of the king.

Rather than being a modern legal code or constitution, it may have as its purpose the self-glorification of Hammurabi by memorializing his wisdom and justice.

Its copying in subsequent generations indicates that it was used as a model of legal and judicial reasoning.