Judeo-Christian Roots of the European Legal Culture

Abstract

This article deals with the Judeo-Christian roots of the European legal culture. The Torah or mosaic Law contains the basic principles of individual human rights, equality before the Law, rule of Law. The Ten Commandments as universal ethical norm is not only a catalogue of moral obligations, but it is a source of human liberties. The analysis of the Decalogue shows the toraic regulation that shaped our conceptions of the value of human life, family, education, property, dignity, privacy, judiciary system and good governance. This study makes an attempt to connect the Old Testament legislation and the western society through the reception of the New Testament in the European culture, to show how relevant are the toraic values still today.