Writing in the Sand: Mercy and Charity Above the Law?
Writing in the Sand: Mercy and Charity Above the Law?

Summary/Abstract: In this text the author elaborates the nature of the concepts of mercy and charity in western legal jurisdictions based on Judeo-Christian tradition and culture, arguing that both concepts, although different, have crucial roles in shaping justice and adjusting the repressive power states and governments possess. It is shown that contemporary law could not be fully fulfilled without the application of charity and mercy which guarantee the existence of law designed to serve humankind. Subsections of this article examine examples from Biblical Law to more recent legal systems and give the perspective in which the place of charity and mercy stays within the regulatory framework of contemporary legal scholarship.

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