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Roman
Government
Political Structure
The Roman Republic was organised much like our modern
political system. Since the Romans did not want one man to
make all of the laws, they decided to balance the power of the
government between three branches:
•The Executive branch – Consuls and Magistrates
•The Legislative branch – Senate and legislative assemblies
•The Judicial branch – Councils and courts
A Roman Constitution
The constitution was largely unwritten, uncodified,
and constantly evolving. Rather than creating a
government that was primarily a democracy, an
aristocracy, or a monarchy, the Roman constitution
mixed these three elements, thus creating three
separate branches of government. The democratic
element took the form of the legislative assemblies,
the aristocratic element took the form of the Senate,
and the monarchical element took the form of the
many term-limited consuls.
Executive Branch
• The two leaders of the executive branch, the consuls, were elected
for just one year by the patrician class.
• They supervised the Senate and ordered the Roman army during
wars.
• Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year
term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the
officials would alternate each month.
• Consuls had extensive capacities in peacetime (administrative,
legislative and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest military
command.
• Other members of the executive branch were the tax collectors,
mayors, city police, and other people in positions of power in cities.
Legislative Branch
• Assembly of the Curia – (comitia curiata) was the principal assembly
during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. The Curiate Assembly
was organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council even though only
patricians were members.
• Assembly of the Centuries – (comitia centuriata or "Army Assembly") of
the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of the Roman soldiers.
The Century Assembly was organized as an Assembly, as every Roman
citizen with the required wealth could vote, regardless of class.
• Assembly of the Tribes – (comitia tributa) of the Roman Republic was
the democratic assembly of Roman citizens. The Tribal Assembly was
organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council.
• Plebeian Council – (concilium plebis) was the principal popular gathering
of the Roman Republic. As the name suggests, the Plebeian Council was
organized as a Council, and not as an Assembly. It functioned as a gathering
through which the Plebeians (commoners) could pass laws, elect magistrates,
and try judicial cases.
The most powerful part of the
legislative branch was the Senate…
The Senate continued...
• The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution
in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected
body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls,
and later by the censors.
• After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was
followed with automatic appointment to the Senate.
• Any motion that had the support of the Senate but was vetoed
was recorded in the annals as a senatus auctoritas, while any
motion that was passed and not vetoed was recorded as a
senatus consultum.
• The Plebeian Tribune could veto any proposal passed by the
Senate. However, the Plebeian Tribune had to be present to
enact his veto.
• The Senate passed money bills and control what money
would be spent on.
Judicial Branch
The judicial branch had six judges who were elected every two
years.
They were in charge of deciding punishments that criminals
would receive.
Their job was similar to the job that judges have today in
Australia.
Executive magistrates: Consuls, praetors, censors, aediles,
quaestors, tribunes, and dictators. All these positions had
influence over law.
Plebeian Council acted as a judicial arm of the Roman Republic.
They passed laws and presided over judicial cases.