§ 5

Law § 5 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
as a judge, punishment for changing a verdict after the fact is paying the losing party's damages times twelve and removal as a judge.
Translation
If a judge adjudicated a decision, rendered a verdict, had a sealed document deposited, (and) later on changed his decision, that judge will be convicted of changing the decision he adjudicated and will give up to twelve times the fine that was in force in that judgment; further, he will be removed from his judicial seat in the assembly, and will not longer sit with the judges in decision(s).
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Unsubstantiated Allegations

Cuneiform

Law § 5 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 4, col. VI, lns. 6–30)

Transliteration

šum-ma da-a-a-nu-um di-nam i-di-in pu-ru-sà-am ip-ru-ús ku-nu-uk-kam ú-še-zi-ib wa-ar-ka-nu-um-ma di-in-šu i-te-ni da-a-a-nam šu-a-ti i-na di-in i-di-nu e-ne-em ú-ka-an-nu-šu-ma ru-gu-um-ma-am ša i-na di-nim šu-a-ti ib-ba-aš-šu-ú A.RÁ 12-šu i-na-ad-di-in ù i-na pu-úḫ-ri-im i-na gišGU.ZA da-a-a-nu-ti-šu ú-še-et-bu-ú-šu-ma ú-ul i-ta-ar-ma it-ti da-a-a-ni i-na di-nim ú-ul uš-a(!TA)-ab

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 382)

Normalization

šumma dayyānum dīnam idīn, purussâm iprus, kunukkam ušēzib, warkānum-ma dīššu īteni, dayyānam šuāti ina dīn idīnu enêm ukannūšū-ma rugummâm ša ina dīnim šuāti ibbaššû adi šinšerīšu inaddin; u ina puḫrim ina kussi dayyānūtīšu ušetbûšû-ma ul itâr-ma itti dayyānī ina dīnim ul uššab.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 99–100)

Translation

If a judge adjudicated a decision, rendered a verdict, had a sealed document deposited, (and) later on changed his decision, that judge will be convicted of changing the decision he adjudicated and will give up to twelve times the fine that was in force in that judgment; further, he will be removed from his judicial seat in the assembly, and will not longer sit with the judges in decision(s).

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 100)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 5 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 10 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/5. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 10). § 5 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/5

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 5 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 10, 2023. Modified December 15, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/5.

Bibliography

ACH

Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.

CHTP

Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.

HAG3

Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

HKEY3

Huehnergard, John. Key to a Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

–

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA: Digital Mythology Library & Search Engine." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org. [Visit]

RHL

Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.

SoT

Sound of Text Contributors. "Sound of Text: AI Text-to-Speech." Accessed November 14, 2023. https://soundoftext.app. [Visit]

eHammurabi Glossary

The § symbol is a shorthand notation for the word 'section'.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Cuneiform is an ancient writing system used by various cultures around Mesopotamia.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Normalization is the application of grammatical rules unto transliterated sound values.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Translation is the conversion of linguistic contents and their meanings from one language into another.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Transliteration is the conversion of sound values from one writing system into another.

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