Some call it a mandatory attribute, others - no more than decoration. Some say that they were tortured, others that they were even killed, and others that drove nails into the coffin ...
You saw him in American films, in domestic television shows and hardly at a real court hearing 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 national flag of the Russian Federation and its coat of arms, and for the guardian of justice - the mantle, no more symbols are established in the law.
The only thing you can see the judge's hammer on the table of the guardian of justice is if you pass the casting at the “Hour of the Court”.
Moreover, in the history of Russia there are no sources indicating the use of a hammer in a lawsuit. Unlike the western ones.
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 what, some of them did not live to see the end of the trial.
However, since the salaries of justice workers depended on the number of lawbreakers hidden in prison - the more people they planted, the more they received - in the ancient world they decided to save employees from starvation and came up with wooden hammers. Not for the sake of humanity, but to save a salary. But this, apparently, did not help. The beating on the head was still replaced with a plaque. 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 the dignity of supreme power 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 the temple of Solomon and the assassination of the chief master builder Adoniram. So, the attempt was committed by 3 tools: a hammer, a square and scale. They are considered the main symbols of Masons.
Photo of the judge's hammer in the article below.
Version number three states that the first use of the hammer in a lawsuit belongs to the Sumerians. Legally, they were a very advanced nation. They kept records of court decisions, which were called detilla, which literally means “final sentence”. They even had judicial archives, where the protocols of the proceedings were kept. They led them according to all the rules of prehistoric workflow, which, incidentally, is not too different from the modern one.
For any fault, the Sumerians could have buried alive. The number of nails driven into the coffin lid reflected the gravity 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 the nails (and this is not for you to beat off on a stand).
The Vikings also have a parable in this regard. In their epic, the judicial hammer symbolizes the weapon of Thor - the god of thunder and lightning. He ruled over simple mortal 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 did not knock at all with a hammer, 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 public, who was called the “weight holder”. After everything acquired was reflected on the tablets, the testator turned to his representative - the heir. Which, in turn, said: your property is under my jurisdiction and under my supervision, so that you can make a will in accordance with the law through this copper. Next - "tink", which symbolized the deal. Well, after the testator listed all his native words in a voice, which he reflected on the tablets.
Such a rite was a necessary element of a deal for land, slaves, livestock and other, as they would say today, “real estate”. However, no one knocked with hammers here.
What is the name of the referee's hammer?
Such a substantial past should have left an indelible mark on this attribute. At least on the very name of the judicial gavel. But no. They call him that: the judge's hammer (photo in the article) or the hammer of the chairman. No gibberish.
Knock Knock
If we talk about functions, then a hammer blow symbolizes the beginning and end of a process. At the same time, the judge is not entitled to hamper the participants in the court session with a hammer and drown their story with the help of the hammer of justice.