Some call it a mandatory attribute, others call it nothing more than decoration. Some say that they were tortured, others that they even killed them, and still others that they drove nails into the coffin lid…
You've seen him in American films, in domestic TV shows, and hardly at a real court session in Russia. After all, the federal law "On Courts of General Jurisdiction in the Russian Federation" states that a hammer is not a mandatory attribute. In addition to the state flag of the Russian Federation and its coat of arms, and for the guardian of justice himself - a mantle, no other symbols have been established in the law.
The only thing you can see the judge's gavel on the table of the justice officer is if you pass the casting in the Hour of Judgment.
Moreover, in the history of Russia there are no sources indicating the use of a hammer in a trial. Unlike Western.
Tribute to the system
In the past, judges pounded iron milk not on a wooden plank, but on the heads of the defendants. Because of which, some of them did not live to see the end of the trial.
However sohow the salary of justice workers depended on the number of lawbreakers hidden in dungeons - the more people they imprisoned, the more they received - in the ancient world they decided to save employees from starvation and invented wooden hammers. Not for humanity's sake, but to save wages. But that didn't seem to help either. Beating on the heads was still replaced by a plank. Already for humanity.
The second version goes back to the Freemasons. It is believed that this symbol was borrowed from them. After all, the most important sign of dignity of the highest authority is the hammer, which the chairman uses during Masonic meetings.
In the Old Testament - the first, oldest of the two parts of the Christian Bible - there is a story about the construction of Solomon's temple and the murder of the chief master builder Adoniram. So, the attempt was made with 3 tools: a hammer, a square and a scale. They are considered the main symbols of the Masons.
Photo of the judge's gavel in the article below.
Version number three says that the first use of a hammer in a lawsuit belongs to the Sumerians. From a legal point of view, they were a very advanced nation. They kept records of court decisions, which were called detilla, which literally means “final verdict”. They even had court archives, where the protocols of the trials were kept. They conducted them according to all the rules of prehistoric workflow, which, by the way, is not too different from the modern one.
Forany offense the Sumerians could bury alive. The number of nails hammered into the coffin lid reflected the severity of the crime. After all, the more of them, the harder it is to get out. Moreover, it is believed that the judge himself hammered in the nails (and this is not for you to beat on the stand).
The Vikings also have a parable about this. In their epic, the court gavel symbolizes the weapon of Thor, the god of thunder and lightning. He ruled over mere mortals and otherworldly forces, holding a hammer in his hand, which began to personify the power of the guardians of justice.
They also say that they knocked not with a hammer at all, but with copper bars. And not on the head, but on the scales. And not the one who judged, but the one who made the will.
And this is something new
"Knocking" was carried out in the presence of 5 adult citizens of Rome and a notary, who was called the "keeper". After everything acquired was reflected on the tablets, the testator turned to his representative - the heir. Which, in turn, said: your property is in my charge and under my supervision, so that you can make a will in accordance with the rules of law through this copper. Next - "ding", which symbolized the deal. Well, after that, the testator listed in his voice all his native, which he reflected on the tablets.
Such a rite was a necessary element of a deal for land, slaves, agricultural livestock and other, as they would say today, "real estate". However, no one knocked with hammers here.
What is the name of the judge's gavel?
Such a meaningful past should have left an indelible mark on this attribute. Althoughwould be on the very name of the judge's gavel. But no. It is called that: the judge's gavel (photo in the article) or the chairman's gavel. No abracadabra.
Knock Knock
If we talk about functions, then the blow of a hammer symbolizes the beginning and end of a process. At the same time, the judge does not have the right to interfere with the participants in the court session with a hammer and drown out their story with the hammer of justice.
