Cecily Zamora
The concept of law has evolved over centuries, with various empires contributing to its development. One of the earliest known legal systems can be traced back to ancient Greece, where individuals argued their cases without lawyers and large juries decided the verdict. However, it was the Roman Empire that laid the foundation for modern legal systems. Roman law, which evolved from the Twelve Tablets, influenced most of Western civilization and parts of the East. Emperor Justinian's Code of Justinian, a compilation of Roman laws, remains the basis of civil law in many modern countries. The Roman legal system also influenced the development of law in former colonies, including Latin America and Ethiopia. Ancient India, China, and the Mali Empire also had distinct legal traditions, with independent schools of legal theory and practice.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the Empire | Roman Empire |
| Time period | 753 BCE to 5th century CE |
| Founder | Augustus Caesar |
| Law | Roman Law |
| Basis of the law | The Twelve Tablets |
| Other names for the law | Jus Civile, Ius Gentium, Jus Privatum, Lex Doudecim Tabularum, Leges, Plebiscita, Corpus Juris Civilis, The Code of Justinian, The Codex Theodosianus |
| Influence | The Roman legal system has influenced the development of law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the East. It forms the basis for the law codes of most countries in continental Europe and derivative systems elsewhere. |
| Examples of laws | Requirement to appear in court if called upon, punishment of death for lying in court, prohibition against holding business or political meetings at night |
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What You'll Learn
Roman law
The first legal text of Roman law is the Law of the Twelve Tables, which dates back to the mid-fifth century BCE. This code of law governed relationships between citizens and included provisions such as the requirement to appear in court if summoned and the punishment of death for lying in court. The Twelve Tables were proposed by the plebeian tribune, C. Terentilius Arsa, to prevent magistrates from applying the law arbitrarily.
During the period of the Roman Republic (753–31 BCE), the jus civile (civil law) developed. This law applied exclusively to Roman citizens and was based on custom and legislation. By the middle of the 3rd century BCE, the Romans developed another type of law, jus gentium (law of nations), which applied to both citizens and foreigners.
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The Code of Justinian
Justinian I became emperor in 527 and soon decided that the empire's legal system needed reform. There were three codices of imperial laws and other individual laws, many of which were outdated or contradictory. In February 528, Justinian promulgated the constitution Hac quae necessario, establishing a ten-man commission to review and consolidate the existing laws. The commission was headed by the praetorian prefect John the Cappadocian and included Tribonian, who later headed other Corpus Juris Civilis projects.
The commission completed its work in 14 months, and the compilation was promulgated in April 529 by the Constitutio Summa. The resultant 10-book Codex Constitutionum repealed all imperial ordinances not included in it. However, this compilation did not eliminate all contradictions in Roman jurisprudence, and the constitutions in the Code were used alongside the conflicting opinions of ancient jurists. In 534, a new commission issued a revised Codex (Codex Repetitae Praelectionis) with 12 books, based partly on Justinian's new legislation.
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Ancient Greek legal system
Ancient Greece was not a singular state but a collection of independent city-states known as poleis, each with its own legal system. Despite this, there were shared legal approaches, terminology, and methods across the numerous independent states.
Athens is commonly cited in discussions about the Ancient Greek legal system. In the Athenian legal system, there were no professional lawyers, and citizens argued their cases themselves. Wealthier litigants, however, might hire speechwriters to help them craft their arguments. Athenian courts were cheap and run by laypeople, with cases being completed within a day. Athenian courts have been viewed as a system for settling disputes and resolving arguments, rather than enforcing a coherent system of rules, rights, and obligations. The Prytaneion court was responsible for trying unknown people, animals, and inanimate objects for homicide, to ensure that Athens remained free of blood-guilt for the crime.
In 4th-century Athens, justice was administered by magistrates, popular courts (dikasteria), and the Areopagus. Functionaries received the actions and arranged the trials that took place before the courts, with each functionary having a specific jurisdiction: the archon oversaw matters pertaining to family and succession, the “king” (archon basileus) oversaw religious matters (including murder), and the thesmothetai (“determiners of customs”) oversaw other matters.
Sparta, a military-based society, also developed a lasting legal code, attributed to Lycurgus. Lycurgus established two bodies in Spartan law: the gerousia (council of elders) and the apella. The gerousia held significant power over the judicial system in Sparta, especially regarding the death penalty. Xenelasia was the practice in Sparta of expelling foreigners and discouraging citizens from traveling outside.
The Ancient Greek legal system has had some influence on the legal systems in place today. For example, the American judicial system has roots in the Ancient Greek legal system. However, it is important to note that the Ancient Greek legal system did not have a significant influence on the development of Western legal systems to the same extent as Roman law.
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Influence on the modern legal world
The legal systems of many countries today still bear the marks of the Roman Empire. The foundation of Roman law was the Twelve Tablets, which established a set of laws that remained in place for over 1,500 years. The Code of Justinian, a compilation of Roman laws, is the basis of civil law in many modern countries. Roman law forms the basis of the law codes of most countries in continental Europe and has influenced legal systems elsewhere, including in Latin America and Ethiopia. English and Anglo-American common law were also influenced by Roman law, particularly in their use of Latin legal terminology.
The legal system of the Roman Empire was heavily influenced by Greek teachings. The Romans developed the concept of ius gentium ("law of nations"), which was a set of laws that applied to all people, based on the shared principles and values of civilised societies. This concept of a universal law that applies regardless of citizenship or nationality remains important in modern international law.
The Roman legal system also recognised the concept of ius naturale ("natural law"), which encompassed principles shared by all living creatures, including humans and animals. This idea of natural law, which exists independently of human laws and governs animals as well as humans, has also had a significant influence on modern legal thinking.
In addition to these broad philosophical concepts, the Roman legal system also introduced more specific legal concepts that continue to be important today. For example, the Romans recognised the importance of protecting individuals through private law, which included personal, property, civil, and criminal law, as well as procedural law governing judicial proceedings. The Roman legal system also recognised the concept of corporate personhood, with legal rights being granted to groups such as the Roman state, municipalities, and religious organisations.
The influence of the Roman Empire on the modern legal world is profound and wide-ranging. The development of Roman law over centuries, from the early Republic to the Byzantine Empire, helped to shape the legal systems that would emerge in Europe and beyond in the centuries that followed. While the Roman legal system has evolved and been adapted to new contexts, its fundamental principles continue to underpin legal systems around the world.
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The first laws
The concept of law has existed in some form for millennia, with the ancient world providing the earliest examples of codified legal systems. One of the earliest and most complete written legal codes is the Code of Hammurabi, proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 BCE. The Code of Hammurabi is a collection of 282 rules, establishing standards for commercial interactions, and setting fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Hammurabi's Code is considered one of the earliest examples of the doctrine of "lex talionis", or the law of retribution, commonly known as "an eye for an eye". The Code outlines harsh punishments, including the removal of the guilty party's tongue, hands, breasts, eyes, or ears. It also set different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society: the propertied class, freedmen, and slaves.
Another influential ancient legal system was that of ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, there were no lawyers, and individuals argued their cases themselves, sometimes with the help of speechwriters. Large juries, sometimes consisting of 500 jurors, decided the verdicts, and cases were required to be completed within a single day.
However, it is the legal system of ancient Rome that has had the most significant influence on modern legal systems. Roman law, which was in force from the founding of the city in 753 BCE until the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century CE, formed the basis of legal codes in most countries of continental Europe and has influenced legal systems in parts of the East. The foundation of Roman law was the Twelve Tablets, which contained an established set of laws. These laws included the requirement to appear in court if called upon, the punishment of death for lying in court, and a prohibition against holding business or political meetings at night. During the period of the Roman Republic (753–31 BCE), jus civile (civil law) developed, applying exclusively to Roman citizens. Later, in the 3rd century BCE, the Romans developed jus gentium (law of nations), which applied to both Romans and foreigners. The legal institutions evolved by the Romans continued to influence the laws of other peoples long after the disappearance of the Roman Empire.
The first emperor of Rome, Augustus Caesar, established the empire in 31 BCE, and while the assemblies remained functional, their role was reduced to formally ratifying the emperor's wishes. Emperor Justinian I was responsible for creating the Code of Justinian, a compilation of Roman laws that is the foundation of the civil law in many modern countries. The codes of Justinian, particularly the Corpus Juris Civilis (529–534 CE), continued to be the basis of legal practice in the Byzantine Empire.
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Frequently asked questions
The Roman Empire created the foundation of law in many modern countries. The first system of dispute resolution was put in writing in the Law of the Twelve Tablets (Lex Doudecim Tabularum). This law was in place for more than 1,500 years.
The Law of the Twelve Tablets was the first attempt to create a general code encompassing public and private issues. It included requirements such as the need to appear in court if called upon, the punishment of death for lying in court, and a prohibition against holding business or political meetings at night.
Emperor Justinian was responsible for creating the Code of Justinian, a compilation of Roman laws. This code was the foundation of civil law in many modern countries.
