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Law & Justice:
Ancient Rome
Period 3
Roman Court Procedure
• With no public prosecution service, citizens had to bring cases up
themselves.
• At early stages, this was done by verbal summons rather than a
legal document.
• Next, a judge would be appointed and he would decide on the
outcome of the case.
• The two parties could either agree on a judge or choose one from a
list called the album iudicum.
Roman Court Procedure
• There was a moral obligation to judge a case called "officium" for
any male citizen that was chosen to do so.
• Legally no one was required to judge because it was recognized as
a burden.
• The judge was also not required to come to a conclusion. If he
swore that the case was not clear, he did not have to make a
decision about anyone's guilt.
Roman Court Scene >
Roman Court Procedure
•Roman trial proceedings differed during the Republic and the Empire.
•During the republic, court cases were mostly private matters, and the verdicts were
made by the judge (praetor) and the jury (quaestiones.) Anyone who had the aid of a
patron could press charges.
•During the Empire, Roman courts and their proceedings became much more elaborate
and organized. The senate took over the role of the Jury in the three criminal courts, one
run by the emperor, another by the consuls, and a third by the city prefect.
•The courts in Imperial Rome were not subject to public appeals, as they had been during
the republic. Consuls decided upon whether or not a case would go to trial, and the
presentation of evidence and calling of witnesses was strictly timed and recorded.
•Provincial governors were allowed to compose their own formulas for court procedures,
and in some cases, new governors changed the formulas every year, making the system
impossible to keep up with.
Praetors' Roles in Court
The Praetors appointed iudex (equivalent of a modern jury) to decide
guilt or innocence in criminal cases.
They could also either appoint a iudex pedaneus, or oversee the case
personally.
In civil cases, the Praetor ruled in favor of either the plaintiff or
defendant, and decided upon the aweard to the plaintiff (should it be
ruled in his favor).
Praetors essentially had the role of a modern court judge.
Roman Laws and Their Similarities to
Today
~The first known source of Roman law are the
Laws of the Twelve Tables from the mid-fifth century
B.C., written in early Latin. They provided legal security
among the Romans by establishing what was allowed and
what wasn't. Before the Twelve Tables there was no written law, therefore people were
being punished for wrongdoings, without technically breaking any laws.
~The Twelve Tables were literally drawn up on twelve ivory tablets (bronze, according to
Livy) which were posted in the Roman Forum so that all Romans could read them.
~The praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, published each year his edict in which he
announced how he would apply the laws.
~Roman law is concerned with the relationships between people, their legal actions, and the
right they have on goods.
~For centuries there were no courts. In the great public trials, like the ones in which Cicero
became famous, his role was more like that of an orator than the role of a modern solicitor.
~There were many phases of the punishment process. Taking legal actions is a phase of its
own. There were no actual judicial members until one of the final phases of the process.
Roman Laws Vs.Laws Today
Roman:
Twelve Tables (451 B.C.)- The
starting point of the Roman
Constitution.
Lex Valeria et Horatia de
Plebiscitum (449 B.C.)- Defined
the rights and authorities of the
tribunes.
Leges Genuciae (342 BC)- States
the same office should not be held
twice within 10 years, and no man
can hold two offices at once.
Lex Acilia et Calpurnia (67 BC)Permanent expulsion from office in
the case of corruption.
Bill of Rights (1789)- A list of rights
for everyone in America.
United States Constitution (1787)set up the three wings: Legislative,
Executive, Judicial, each with
checks and balances.
The President can not hold office
for more then 2 terms
The Twelve Tables
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/12tables.html
Original Latin Text and in depth interpretation at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tables
Roman Jurists
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Kerry O'Rourke and Kelleigh Whelan
Jurists - first repositories & interpreters of law
Stage 1: before 12 Tables - small body of men (patricians,
priests); gave definite shape & expression to law
Stage 2: third century BC - restrictions diminished (plebeians);
expounded customs & statutes
Stage 3: fall of Republic - obligatory for iudex (referee, jury) to
defer to opinion offered by jurists; inner order - path to distinction;
Emperor empowered to make law (by interpreting)
Throughout - Source of Law, but function changed
Classical period of Roman Law - most famous time
Roman Jurists - professionals who
study,
develop, apply or otherwise deal
with the law
• Famous Jurists: Sextus Pomponius,
Quintus Mucius
Scaevola, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, Papinian
• Jurists in latin = prudentes
Roman Jurist: Gaius
• He lived from A.D. 110 to at least A.D. 179, since he wrote on legislation passed
within that time
• Gaius wrote the Institutes, a complete exposition of the elements of Roman law. They
are divided into four books:
o Treating of persons and the differences of the status they may occupy in the eye of
the law
o Things, and the modes in which rights over them may be acquired, including the
law relating to wills
o Intestate succession and of obligations
o Actions and their forms
• Also wrote a treatise on the Edicts of the Magistrates,
of Commentaries on the Twelve Tables, and on the
important Lex Papia Poppaea.
• "The law is what the people order and establish",
Institutiones, 1.2.3.
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Roman lawyers were different than today because they weren't paid and did
not present the case (this was mainly done by the client)
They could offer advice and had the choice to present a speech for either side
In early Rome, a wealthy class of law specialists developed called juris
consults who gave legal opinions to people
o This was not their main career it was more of a hobby
Notaries appeared later in the roman empire.
o They were responsible for, wills, conveyances, and contracts
Anyone could call himself a legal expert, but the amount of cases he was
asked to handle was up to his reputation
This changed once Claudius legalized the legal profession
Roman Court Procedure (Cont.)
•Roman trial proceedings differed during the Republic and the Empire.
•During the republic, court cases were mostly private matters, and the verdicts were made
by the judge (praetor) and the jury (quaestiones.) Anyone who had the aid of a patron
could press charges.
•During the Empire, Roman courts and their proceedings became much more elaborate
and organized. The senate took over the role of the Jury in the three criminal courts, one
run by the emperor, another by the consuls, and a third by the city prefect.
•The courts in Imperial Rome were not subject to public appeals, as they had been during
the republic. Consuls decided upon whether or not a case would go to trial, and the
presentation of evidence and calling of witnesses was strictly timed and recorded.
•Provincial governors were allowed to compose their own formulas for court procedures,
and in some cases, new governors changed the formulas every year, making the system
impossible to keep up with.
Punishments of Roman Law
Nikki Wells
• Forgery:
- Slave: Death
- Freeman: Banishment, caused then to loose there property and
privileges
• Misdemeanors: excommunication from society
• Killing Your Father (Patricide):
- The criminal was blindfolded because they were unworthy of
light
- They were then taken to the field of Mars and whipped with
rods.
- Then they were placed in a sack, which at times had a serpent
in it.
- The sack was then sewn shut and they were thrown into the
sea
Punishment of Roman
Law
Crucifixion: most shameful and disgraceful
way of death
- Used on criminals and rebels,
punishment for serious offenses such as
rebellion, treason, and robbery.
- The Romans used crucifixion because
it was painful and made the criminal suffer, which was seen as
payment for their crimes.
- The criminal had to first carry their cross outside of the city,
where the execution would take place.
- The criminal was then whipped with a flagrum, which was a
leather whip with small pieces of metal and bone attached to it.
- Next the criminal was either nailed to the cross or they were
bound to the cross and left to die of hunger.
Roman Fire and Police
• The regular Roman army was not allowed to stay within any of the
cities. Therefore there was a seperate security and fire department
that protected the city.
• 7,500 constables (Vigiles) protected the city
• These men had to act as both a police and fire department
• Small house fires were a daily occurrence
• The Vigiles were sometime fined if they did not respond to a fire fast
enough
• Triumviri capitales- fire brigade stationed in groups of 20 or 30 that had
basic tools
• During the time of Augustus the department was broken into seven
battalions. Each battalion would watch two of the fourteen regions
Roman Fire and Police
• All the battalions were placed under comand of a general or prefect
• Prefect's went around and examined kitchens in every house and examine
furnaces to make sure they were working properly
• Police broken into different categories
 Triumviri nocturni - Primary duty was to watch the city at night
• Police set up stations at the points where disputes were most likely to occur
Heritage of Roman Law in Europe
• Studied intensively at law school in Bologna and at other
European universities towards the end of the Middle Ages
• Better suited to regulate economic transactions and gave the
people legal protection of property and ability to pass down a
will
• A consistent legal system was developed for all of continental
Europe called Ius Commune, or civil law
• This legal system ended as nations were established and
codified their own set of laws
Justinian’s Effect on Roman
Law
-Justinian revised all of Roman law
-The total revision of law had never been attempted
-The revisions Justinian made are today known as
Corpus Juris Civilis. This includes the Codex
Justinianus, Digesta, the Institutiones, and the Novellae.
-The first draft of Codex Justinianus was created on
April 27, 529
-The Digesta was a compilation of older Latin legal
texts.
-Institutiones was about the basic principles of Roman
law.
-Novellae was a list of new laws that Justinian made
-The Novellae, unlike the rest of the Corpus, was written
in Greek
-The Corpus forms the basic Latin jurisprudence and