Roman Law                                                                                    back to Rome page  

     Roman Law was set into codes for the first time in 450. B.C. This code is known as the TWELVE TABLES. These early law indicate that it did no more than state general rules for behaviour. The application of the rules are what seemed to matter. At first the Consuls administered the laws, but in 336 B.C. the Praetors were given the job and these decisions were recorded. Over time each Praetors judgment was influenced by decisions of previous Praetors. Each Praetor was free to give his own interpretation of the laws in any particular case they tended to fall back on decisions if the case they were hearing was similar to one tried in the past. Slowly, a whole system of precedents was established which became the basis for Roman law. The Twelve Tables, as a legal instrument, was pushed into the background. About 242 B.C., a second praetor was elected to settle disputes in which foreigners were involved. Gradually, a law developed called Jus Gentium, which applied to all inhabitants of the Roman Empire.

     The development of case law made the administration of law more flexible and kept it more in line with public opinion. Flexibility and adaptability were the two key characteristics of Roman law. besides the Praetors, a well defined class of legal experts, the juris prudentes, grew up in Rome. These men were the lawyers in Rome. 

     Civil lawsuits were tried by a judge who selected from a panel of senators from both sides involved in the lawsuit with both sides agreeing to abide by his verdict. Criminal law was the special concern of courts of jurors selected by both sides from a panel of senators. Generally fifty to seventy-five men served on the jury. majority votes determined the verdict, which was rendered after the defense challenged and cross-examined the witnesses.

     Roman law reached its greatest development in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian when all the laws were codified for the first time. The final codification of laws occurred in Constantinople during the rule of Emperor Justinian (527 - 565 AD). In a series of volumes, legal experts collected and stated the law and eliminated everything that was obsolete, inconsistent or repetitive. Justinian's work, Corpus Juris Civilis, the body of civil law, contained the entire legal history of Rome for 1000 years. In it were laws dealing with property transfers, contracts, inheritance, wills, commercial dealings, murder, robbery, divorce, woman's rights, and international obligations.

     Roman law civilized the world because where ever the Romans conquered they took their legal concepts with them and implanted those concepts so firmly that they are still functioning today in many parts of Europe. The use of a professional lawyer class and the evolution of civil law with its concern for the rules of evidence, rights of defendants, use of legal precedents, and the concept that one is innocent until proven guilty, are all products of the Roman Empire that influenced the world throughout the rest of history.