Code of Enlil

The code of Enlil (or "Code of Enlil" ), also called the law of Enlil, was the set of case laws developed by the god Enlil of the Untheric pantheon that formed the basis of the legal systems of Unther, Chessenta,  and Turmish. It described a wide variety of crimes and other offenses, along with fitting punishments in a system of retributive justice.

Laws
In principle, the goals of the code of Enlil were to promote justice and bring enlightenment, as well as to destroy evil and end oppression. By Faerûnian standards, the code of Enlil was harsh but fair. Its punishments were severe, but they were consistently applicable to all social classes, even slaves.

It established the concept that a craftsman or laborer would be responsible for the quality of their work. For example, if a building collapsed because of faulty construction, the builder would be considered responsible.

The revised code used in Chessenta added the concept that a person charged with a crime that carried a death sentence had the right to defend themselves before a jury, which had to render unanimous verdict before the person could be convicted. Moreover, it added that if a person killed a tyrant who was oppressing the people, then that person should be considered blameless, which some argued was the most enlightened idea of justice in all of Faerûn.

Punishments
The majority of punishments followed the "eye for an eye" principle. For example, a thief caught red-handed stealing something could lose that hand. Smuggling was punishable by enslavement, perhaps with the intention of paying off a debt to society. Piracy was punishable by banishment, albeit with the offender put in a small boat without food or water and set adrift. The crime of murder was punishable by death, no matter how it occurred. For example, the builder who constructed a faulty house that collapsed and killed the occupant would be executed.

In Chessenta's revised code, punishments were less severe and came in four types: fines, imprisonment, banishment, and execution. Causing trouble in public, such as starting a fight or instigating a riot, was punishable by banishment. Committing treason and murder were punishable by execution. Smuggling and tax evasion were punishable by steep fines and confiscation of goods and repeat offenders were banished; it did not carry a death sentence. Piracy (not privateering) was handled differently in each city-state, but generally punished severely, often with execution, as well as confiscation of one's ship.

History
After the code was developed by Enlil in ancient times, meting out justice in Unther was the domain of his priests. When Enlil left Toril in, it became the duty of the priests of his son, the god-king Gilgeam. He appointed regional justices to safeguard the code of Enlil and see that justice was done.

In Unther
Thus, the code of Enlil was followed in Unther, more or less as established, until around the mid–11 century DR, when Gilgeam turned to tyranny and the law became hopelessly corrupted to the point of non-existence by the 1350s DR. The judges cared little for justice, and even exploited their authority to intimidate, rob, and kill others. Nobles did as they pleased, breaking agreements as "just refusal of services", robbing others as "confiscating", committing murder as "summary execution", and worse. Punishments were arbitrary and capricious: a pirate could be executed by torture or forced to entertain at the palace. If two nobles took a dispute to Gilgeam, he ruled for the one he liked and punished the other according to his dislike. If a native Untheri noble or freeholder and a foreigner, then the foreigner always lost. If two foreigners, then they might well both be made slaves for was wasting the king's and his servants' time on trivial matters. As a result, mercenaries and assassins (most of them Chessentans, killers, and poisoners) were a more reliable way of getting justice or collecting debts for most freeholders and traders.

In Chessenta
Once a holding of the empire of Unther, Chessenta retained a revised form of the Code of Enlil, with additional laws and rights and less-severe punishments. In the 1350s DR, it was followed in the city-states of Airspur, Cimbar, Mordulkin, Mourktar, Reth, Soorenar, and elsewhere, while Akanax instead employed a biased military tribunal and Luthcheq just went with the whims of the ruling Karanok family.

In Turmish
Turmish extracted its legal system from the code of Enlil, perhaps a form once used in Chessenta. However, its enforcement was somewhat loose in the 1350s DR.

Background
The code of Enlil is based on the Code of Hammurabi enacted by King Hammurabi of Babylon in 1754 BCE. The quote above paraphrases its preface.