Anaya Nolan
Roman law, the legal system of ancient Rome, has a long and complex history, with legal developments spanning over a thousand years, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC) to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 529). The concept of Roman law was based on the principle that all citizens were protected by written laws covering all crimes and aspects of daily life. These laws were established through various means, including statutes, magisterial decisions, emperor's edicts, and senatorial decrees, adapting to the changing circumstances of the Roman world. The original text of the Twelve Tables has been lost, but it is believed that they marked a shift from customary law to a transparent system, serving as the foundation for modern Western legal systems. Over time, Roman law evolved, and by the middle of the 3rd century BCE, the concept of 'jus gentium' or the 'law of nations' emerged, applying to both citizens and foreigners. This flexible system of law continued to develop, with new branches such as 'ius honorarium' being introduced to support the changing needs of Roman society. In the 6th century AD, Emperor Justinian further codified Roman law in the Corpus Iuris Civilis, ensuring its influence on legal practices in the empire and beyond.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of creation | 451 BCE or 449 BCE |
| Location | Rome |
| Type of law | Jus civile (civil law) |
| Purpose | To distinguish the law found exclusively in the city of Rome from the jus gentium (law of nations) found throughout the empire |
| Focus | Rights of Roman citizens |
| Primary sources | Senate statutes, the emperor's decrees, and customary law |
| Secondary sources | Treaties with foreign states |
| Compilation | The Twelve Tables of Rome |
| Influence | The foundation of modern Western legal systems |
| Later developments | The Corpus Juris Civilis, ordered by Emperor Justinian in AD 529 |
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What You'll Learn
The Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC)
The Twelve Tables, created around 449 BC, are considered the foundational text of Roman civil law. The original text has not survived, likely destroyed when Rome was conquered and burned by the Gauls in 387 BC. However, fragments and later works based on the Tables provide insight into their content and significance.
The Twelve Tables were a codification of customary law, transforming Roman law from an arbitrary system based on tradition to a transparent and prestigious code. This codification was a significant development, as it made the law knowable to the average Roman, providing a foundation for modern Western legal systems. The Tables covered various areas of law, with a particular focus on private law and civil procedure.
While the exact provisions are unknown, they were designed to modify existing customary law. The Tables addressed a range of topics, including crime and property ownership, commerce, citizenship, and more. They served as the primary source of civil law and established rights for Roman citizens, such as the right to a trial and defence in a court of law.
The Twelve Tables were influential not only in ancient Rome but also in later legal traditions. They were referenced and built upon by subsequent Roman legal scholars and served as a basis for legal practice in Western continental Europe and its former colonies, including Latin America and Ethiopia. The Tables also influenced English and Anglo-American common law, particularly in the adoption of Latinate legal terminology.
In summary, the Twelve Tables, created around 449 BC, were a pivotal moment in the development of Roman civil law. They codified customary law, established rights for citizens, and laid the foundation for modern Western legal systems, shaping legal traditions well beyond ancient Rome.
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Jus civile
The original text of the Twelve Tables, which formed the basis of Roman law, has not been preserved. The tablets were likely destroyed when Rome was conquered and burned by the Gauls in 387 BCE. However, fragments that did survive show that it was not a law code in the modern sense. Instead, the tables contained specific provisions designed to change the existing customary law. The largest part of the provisions was dedicated to private law and civil procedure.
By the middle of the 3rd century BCE, another type of law, jus gentium (law of nations), was developed by the Romans to be applied to both citizens and foreigners. This was not the result of legislation but was instead a development of the magistrates and governors responsible for administering justice in cases involving foreigners. The jus gentium became part of the massive body of law applied by magistrates, providing a flexible alternative to jus civile.
In the period between about 201 and 27 BCE, more flexible laws developed to match the changing needs. The old formal ius civile was replaced with the ius honorarium, or "the law introduced by the magistrates who had the right to promulgate edicts in order to support, supplement or correct the existing law."
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Jus gentium
In Roman law, jus gentium was a system of equity that applied in cases involving foreigners and Roman citizens. It was not the result of legislation, but rather a development of the magistrates and governors responsible for administering justice in cases involving foreigners. The concept of jus gentium originated from the Roman assumption that any rule of law common to all nations must be fundamentally valid and just. They broadened this concept to refer to any rule that instinctively aligned with their sense of justice.
The jurist Gaius defined jus gentium as:
> Every people (populus) that is governed by statutes and customs (leges et mores) observes partly its own peculiar law and partly the common law of all mankind. That law which a people established for itself is peculiar to it and is called ius civile (civil law) as being the special law of that civitas (state), while the law that natural reason establishes among all mankind is followed by all peoples alike, and is called ius gentium (law of nations, or law of the world) as being the law observed by all mankind. Thus the Roman people observes partly its own peculiar law and partly the common law of all mankind.
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The Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 529)
The Corpus Juris Civilis, also known as the Code of Justinian, was a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence enacted from 529 to 534 by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The work was planned to have three parts: the Codex, the Digest or Pandects, and the Institutes. All three parts, even the textbook, were given the force of law. They were intended to be the sole source of legal knowledge.
The Codex, or Codex Constitutionum, was a compilation of imperial enactments selected and extracted by a commission of 10 men appointed by Justinian soon after his accession in 527. The commission was tasked with going through all the known ordinances or "constitutions" issued by previous emperors, weeding out contradictory and obsolete material, and adapting all provisions to the circumstances of the time. The resultant 10-book Codex Constitutionum was promulgated in 529, with all imperial ordinances not included in it being repealed. In 534, a new commission issued a revised Codex containing 12 books, with revisions based partly on Justinian's own new legislation.
The Digest or Pandects, also known as the Digesta or Digestorum seu Pandectarum tomus alter, was a massive collection of excerpts from the literature of classical Roman law. It was drawn up between 530 and 533 by a commission of 16 lawyers under the presidency of the jurist Tribonian. They collected and examined all the known writings of all the authorized jurists, extracting from them whatever was deemed valuable, generally selecting only one extract on any given legal point, and rephrasing the originals whenever necessary for clarity and conciseness. The results were published in 50 books, each book subdivided into titles. All juridical statements not selected for the Digesta were declared invalid and were never to be cited at law.
The Institutes, or Institutiones, was a student textbook that mainly introduced the Codex, although it had important conceptual elements that were less developed in the Codex or the Digest. The Institutes also drew on other introductory literature, extracts from the commentaries of the jurists whose work was used for the Digest, and the Justinianic reform constitutions from the years after 528.
The Corpus Juris Civilis served as the basis of legal practice in the Empire throughout its Byzantine history. It also served as the backbone of the Napoleonic Code, the largest legal reform of the modern age, which abolished feudalism but reinstated slavery in the French Caribbean. The legal codes based on the Corpus Juris Civilis were enacted in Greek as the administrative language of the Eastern Roman Empire shifted away from Latin. The best-known of these are the Ecloga (740), the Prochiron and Epanagoge (c. 879), and the Basilika (late 9th century).
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The influence of Roman law
Roman law, the legal system of ancient Rome, has had a profound and wide-ranging influence on legal systems around the world, both historically and in the present day. It has directly and indirectly influenced legal developments in most of Western civilisation, as well as in parts of the East.
Roman law was in use from the founding of the city of Rome in 753 BCE until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE. However, it remained in use in the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire until 1453 and was the legal system applied in most of Western Europe until the end of the 18th century. In Germany, Roman law was in force even longer, under the Holy Roman Empire from 963 until 1806.
The development of Roman law can be broadly divided into three periods: the early period, the republican period, and the classical period. The early period, from the founding of Rome until the creation of the Twelve Tables around 449 BCE, was characterised by customary law and religious influence. The republican period, from 509 BCE to 27 BCE, saw the development of a sophisticated legal system and the creation of the ius civile, or civil law. The classical period, from around 27 BCE to 250 CE, was marked by the creation of more flexible laws to meet the needs of the expanding empire, including the development of the ius gentium, or law of nations, which applied to both Romans and foreigners.
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Frequently asked questions
Civil law, or jus civile, was first created in ancient Rome in 451 BCE with the Twelve Tables of Rome.
The Twelve Tables of Rome were a set of laws that served as a foundation for modern Western legal systems. They covered various areas of law, including crime and punishment, land and property ownership, commerce, citizenship, and more. The original text has not been preserved, but fragments show that it was not a comprehensive law code but rather specific provisions designed to change existing customary law.
The three branches of ancient Roman law were jus civile, jus gentium, and jus naturale. Jus civile was civil law and focused on the rights of Roman citizens. Jus gentium, or the "law of nations," applied to citizens, non-citizens, and foreigners and operated by common rational principles. Jus naturale, or natural law, superseded all man-made laws and applied to all living beings.
Roman law evolved over a thousand years, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC) to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 529) ordered by Emperor Justinian I. During the Republican period, Roman law became more flexible to match the needs of the time, and new juridical classes were created, such as the ius honorarium.
Roman law had a significant influence on legal systems in Western Europe, Latin America, Ethiopia, and English and Anglo-American common law. It served as the legal system in most of Western Europe until the end of the 18th century and remained in place even longer in certain regions, such as Germany under the Holy Roman Empire (963-1806).
