Modern Western law no longer applies reprisals in criminal matters, so Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights only allows the use of force when absolutely necessary. It is seen more as a matter of private revenge than justice. In principle, the sentences handed down today serve to punish the guilty, but they are linked to the desire to prepare the convicted person for social reintegration after a period of reintegration. At the same time, the concept of compensation in civil matters constitutes the financial compensation to which the person who has suffered non-pecuniary damage and/or damage to his property (material damage) may be entitled. ) is still grappling with collective responsibility. The law of punishment (Ex., xxi, 23-24; Lev., xxiv, 17-22), which today seems so barbaric, is a softening of the primitive law, in which vengeance is a multiple of the damage caused. The law of punishment, one of the oldest laws, consists of the reciprocity of crime and punishment. This law is often symbolized by the expression “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. The word talion comes from talis, which means “thus” in Latin, meaning “like”, “similar”. Until the end of the 18th century, Talion provided justification for corporal punishment such as flogging, marking, mutilation, stockpiling and pillory. This principle continues to serve as a partial basis for sanctions or fines for juvenile offenders in some jurisdictions where customary law is recognized. The Reprisals Act may seek to combat the escalation of individual violence by limiting it to the extent of the violence suffered. The contemporary notion of self-defence stems from the same spirit, requiring that any response be proportional to the attack.

However, it is found in some states that apply Islamic law, such as Nigeria, where the re-establishment of Sharia law in the northern states saw the introduction of a law of retaliation in case of injury or murder with the possibility for the victim or his heirs to renounce it in favor of financial compensation[9]. The law of retaliation (Latin: lex talionis) is the principle of retributive justice expressed in the phrase “an eye for an eye” (Hebrew: ןין תחת ןין) in Exodus 21:23-27. This law defined and limited the scope of reprisals, thus limiting revenge. The code of Hammurabi and the laws of the Old Testament reflected the spirit of that law. The first signs of the law of retaliation are found in the Code of Hammurabi of 1730 BC. A.D. in the kingdom of Babylon. This law thus prevents people from taking the law into their own hands and creates a beginning of order in society with regard to the treatment of crimes. The Code of Hammurabi takes the form of a list of more than two hundred jurisprudences, and many of them are imbued with this just reciprocity of crime and punishment. As in case law 229[1], 230[2] and 231[3], when the collapse of a house, if the collapse of a house kills the owner, son or slave of the owner, in the first case, the builder of the house must be sentenced to death, in the second case, the son of the builder and in the last case, the price of the slave must be paid to the owner[4].

“Soul for soul, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, talion for wounds.” But it remains serious. The death penalty is often provided. The fairy tale still exists. Mutilations are frequent. As far as financial penalties are concerned, they are set by law without leaving any discretion to the judge. They tend to Read more A vague interpretation remains, because nowhere is it clearly stated that the law of punishment is only the maximum permissible response. On the contrary, some interpretations present it as the appropriate response that can lead to violence and counter-violence that never ends.