The code was <em>extremely </em>strict, but it was appropriate. Humans have a tendency to do bad things because of petty reasons, such as said human's emotions getting the best of them, said human is just a bad human, etc.
It could work today, too. Humans have seemed to worsen over the years, and a strict rulebook for what to and what not to do is exactly what could help us. There'll be less murderers, people won't rob, America could improve dramatically with the code of Hammurabi.
