The Foundation
The Ten Commandments is the foundation for building compensation law. Observing its underlying principles allows us to act justly and fairly. Because, regardless of the culture or language background, compensation begins with a respect God. The second is for each person to act in a way that brings honour to one's parents. The third is for each to respect for others and their possessions. Fair compensation respects God firstly, honours our parents and respect the rights of each person. The biblical principles of compensation emphasize restitution rather than vengeance. In the course of acting justly, compassion and humility comes into play. Here are some highlights from the Bible, in Exodus chapters 21 to 23.
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Basic principles |
Exodus 21 - personal injury
18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed. Advice for counselExodus 23 - Law of Justice and Mercy
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. 2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. 4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. 6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent. 9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. |
Exodus 22 - personal property
“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. 2 “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. “Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double. Advice for menExodus 22 - Social Responsibility
“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. |
The purposes of compensation is to restore the injured party to his original position. It is not the purpose of compensation law to enrich a person or his counsel at the cost of society or the party that he is claiming from. The guiding foundational principles behind the Ten Commandments should be helpful, that is a respect for God, a desire to honour our parents through our lives, a respect for human lives and the property rights of our neighbours and a stand for personal integrity, and honour over material gain and loss.
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