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claim to an entitlement held formerly by his father, we can assume
that this was in response to a petition.- L
3.1 Parties
By and large, free men initiate legal proceedings. According to one
document a woman and a man appear as opponents together before
the court.^27 Her appearance before the court and her subsequent
action (see 3.3.4.1 below), and a private letter indicating that a
woman could bring a matter before the king,^28 suggest that women
had access to the courts. Slaves are not attested as initiating suit.
Women appear in court to defend themselves. In a decision from
Ur, a lawsuit is instigated by the brother of a man who has divorced
his wife. According to the text, another woman has detained the
wife, and the brother accuses the “other woman” of having caused
the husband to divorce his wife. When the other woman is asked
by the judge to explain her role in the divorce, she declares that
the man has been living with her but that since the judge has inter-
rogated her, the man will not enter her bed again.^29 The woman
clearly represents her own interests before the court.3.2 Procedure
Private actions began outside of court, and written records indicate
that many disputes were resolved without recourse to a trial.^30 If the
parties did not settle, a litigant could “begin a lawsuit” and “argue
the case” before the court.^31 Cases were heard by priests, mayors,
governors, judges, or the king (in some cases with the title “akanakku;
see 2.1.4.1 above). In a case involving a “aknuofficial, the litigant
appealed first to a higher-ranking “aknu (probably the provincial gov-
ernor), and together they went to the “aknu in question.^32(^27) TuM 5 64 (= Petschow MB Rechtsurkunden 8).
(^28) PBS 1/2 (= Waschow, Babylonische Briefe.. ., 8).
(^29) UET 7 8, and see 5.1.3.1 below.
(^30) E.g., UET 7 16, 17, 18.
(^31) E.g., UET 7 2.
(^32) Actually to his successor; see UET 7 1.
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