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Roman Political Thought Upul Abeyrathne, Dept. of Economics University of Ruhuna Matara Characteristic of Roman World • It was destitute of any great political philosophers • Polybius himself a Greek. • Cicero makes but a poor comparison with Plato and Aristotle. • Roman mind was legal. i.e. Consolidative and not speculative. • The whole of the legal system in Italy, Switzerland and substantial part of Germany, France and Holland are based on Roman Law. Roman Institutions • It was at first a city state formed by a union of tribes living on the neighbouring hills. • Her Government consisted of a Monarch, A Senate, and an Assembly, Comitia Curiata, • Patricians, Aristocratic Class alone held the political power • But later, the Plebians, i.e. Common People succeeded in establishing comitia Centuriata. Roman Institutions • Around 500 B.C. a republic was established. • Patricians and Plebians fought and then coalesced and formed the citizen body. • Two Consuls replaced the king. • They were assisted by praetors and censors and later by tribune, people’s representatives. • First they have consolidated at home and then thought of imperial conquest. Characteristic of Roman World • Italy and neighbouring states were absorbed and governed by prefects. • It had extended its authority over barbarians of North and West from Euphrates to the British isles and from Sahara to Rhine-Danube frontiers. • This knit entire western world into one political system which necessitated a centralized administrative system. Characteristic of Roman World • Military dictatorship had destroyed the democratic institutions. • The popular assembly lost power. • By 2 centaury A.D. the Roman citizenship was extended to provinces and it became an empire. • A common official language and legal system unified the Roman Empire. Characteristic of Roman World • Greek Ideals of democracy, liberty and autonomy were replaced by ideals of unity, order and universal law and cosmopolitanism. • Loss of political independence has resulted in the loss of interest in political speculation. Bases of Roman Political philosophy • Stoicism was the predominant political philosophy while borrowing from other sources. • They were practical men. Hence, have concerned much on building political institutions. • In fact they have systematized the Greek political theory and formulated new principles Bases of Roman Political philosophy • The new principles had concerned with 1. Creation of positive law 2. Separation of politics and ethics 3. Distinction between state and society 4. Political Sovereignty and legal personality of state as the maker of laws. Roman conception of state • The Platonian and Aristotalian conception of state completely absorb the individual. • Epicureans thought state to be an unnecessary encumbrance. • Roman thought of it as necessary and natural. • They have distinguished state from the individuals. • The State as well as individuals had got definite rights and duties. Roman Conception of State • According to Roman emphasis, the state existed to protect individual against other individuals and the state itself which was recognized to be a legal person as much as the individual. • It was the basis of Roman private law. Popular Sovereignity • State is the legal sovereignty • People are the popular sovereignity. • In theory, even the emperor was a representative of the people because people has delegated him the whole authority. • The delegation of power is not a social contact but a governmental contact because the power once delegated cannot be revoked. It is irrevocable. Popular Sovereignity • However, later the power of the emperor was thought of as a divine gift. • The rise of Christianity, later modified this conception. • Divinity was given to the office and not the person who holds the office. • The emperor rule by virtue of divine will and delegated his political authority to the state officials. Popular Sovereignity • The laws are proposed by the magistrates and ratified by the popular assemblies and laws did not constitute the command of sovereign but represented a sort of contract between people and the government. • Even the private law of the Roman is based on the concept of contractual obligations between individuals. Popular Sovereignity • The concept of popular sovereignty established during the republic continued even during the imperial period. • The right of final judgment on criminal cases had continued to belong to the people. “ The will of the state is the will of the aggregate of its citizens. Law is a contact by which these citizens mutually obligate themselves to observe a certain mode of conduct” Roman Imperium • Romans believed that each community held an inalienable and innate right to issue commands to its members and enforce obedience to them. • Romans believed that any individual had a particular and absolute right to rule over them. • Any of the Roman can become the king, it is for life. The king is one of equal burgesses. Roman Legal System and It Influence • Early legal system was based on customs, religious precepts and equity. • With the passage of time, a distinction between divine injunctions and rational customs of men began. • Still state did not enacted laws. • About 450 B.C. those legal customs have been codified. Roman Legal System and It Influence • They were codified into twelve tables. • This codification resulted in symmetrical classification and clearances of codification. • It decreased the power of nobles who were the sole expounders and administrators of laws and generally interpreted laws to suit there own interests. • The blebian now knew their laws and how they stood. • It led to the solidarity of Roman Constitution. Roman Legal System and It Influence • Growth of Jus Gentium: It is the law common to all nation. • Jus Gentium embodied the principle of natural equity and customs and laws common to all nations subject to Rome.