A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

572 

3.3 Procedure

3.3.1 We lack direct evidence about formal steps to be taken by one

party before bringing a case before the judges. The standard clause

“PN will not raise ( judicial) claims/bring charges (“asû) against PN 2 ,”

which is recorded at the end of a great number of private deeds,

contracts, and agreements,^16 possibly alludes to proceedings prior to

formal litigation. The matter is complicated, however, by the fre-

quent association of the “asûclause with the clause concerning breach

of contract (nabalkutu), which foresees payment of a penalty by the

claimant/party in breach.

3.3.2 The beginning of a trial implied the presence of plaintiff(s)

and defendant(s) before the judges. The most recurrent formula intro-

ducing the record of a case is: “PN with PN 2 appeared in a lawsuit

before the judges” (PN ittiPN 2 ina dìni ana pàni dayànè ìtelûma). At

times, the object of the dispute is specified: “as concerns...” (a““um.. .).

3.3.3 In a few instances, the defendant failed or refused to appear

in court: on the plaintiff’s initiative, the judges sent “bailiffs” (man-

zatu¢lu) to summon the defaulting party.^17 After formally ascertain-

ing the defendant’s refusal to appear in court, the judges found in

favor of the plaintiff. On the other hand, the defendant’s declara-

tion admitting the correctness of the claim in fact and law ended

the trial.^18

3.3.4 The judges decided on the basis of evidence produced by the

litigants either on their own initiative or at the court’s request. Within

these parameters, the rich corpus of Nuzi court records attests to a

surprising variety of procedural situations.^19 No formal rules or restric-

tions seem to have fettered the judges’ broad discretion in collect-

ing evidence.^20 In most cases, judgment required evaluation of written

(^16) For a selected list of textual references, see CAD ”/2, 161a–62a.
(^17) For the various technicalities of this procedure, see Hayden, Court Procedure.. .,
13–15. Note that the few records of actual or threatened physical seizure (ßabàtu)
of persons seem to be restricted to cases of crime or debt; cf. the textual references
in CAD Í, 8b–9a.
(^18) Cf. Hayden, Court Procedure..., 24–25, with nn. 94–95.
(^19) For a preliminary overview, see Hayden, Court Procedure.. ., 26–33.
(^20) Cf. Liebesny, “Evidence.. .,” 140–42.
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