Legal systems of the ancient Greeks.
Each city-state administered its own laws, many of which were laid down in written statutes. The harsh law code of Draco and the more humane one of Solon are two of the most famous. Unlike Roman law , Greek law produced little analytical jurisprudence , though the philosophers examined abstract concepts of justice. Those who sat in judgment based their verdicts less on notions of equity than on the statutes' literal meaning. Both private and criminal procedures began with the summoning of the defendant to the magistrate and the filing of a written complaint. A type of arbitration was available in civil suits. Enforcement of a judgment was generally left to the plaintiff.