a legal history rome

[...]... Roman government was monopolized by a few patrician and plebeian families who provided almost all the high magistrates and members of the senate Thus, the fundamentally aristocratic character of the Roman state did not change What changed was the constitution of the aristocracy in power: the old patrician aristocracy was replaced by a new and exclusive patricioplebeian nobility based on wealth and... every part of the legal system; the casting of all legal acts into an unchangeable form where successful completion depends on strict adherence to a set ritual engaging certain words or gestures Archaic Roman law is perceived as formalistic because legal acts, that is, acts that effected or intended to effect changes in the legal relations of individuals, were accomplished with a complicated array of... The history of Roman law in antiquity spans a period of more than a thousand years Initially, the law of a small rural community, then that of a powerful citystate, Roman law became in the course of time the law of a multinational empire that embraced the entire Mediterranean world During its long history, Roman law progressed through a remarkable process of evolution It advanced through different stages... later years the kings were replaced by annually elected magistrates, the Etruscans’ social and political organization remained predominantly aristocratic in character Economic life was based on agriculture, cattle-rearing, industry and commerce The Etruscans were also a powerful maritime people and through sea-trade they established contacts with other Mediterranean peoples, such as the Greeks and the... present a rational justification for his prophesies In each case the link between the facts (the judicial proof, the flying bird) and the decision (an interpretation of the law or a statement concerning divine law – fas and nefas) remained an inexplicable norm This perspective emphasizes the irrational aspect of archaic decision-making The traditional law of archaic Rome was termed ius Quiritium because... dictators as a means of tackling emergency situations After the Roman conquest of Italy and the subjugation of Carthage at the end of the second Punic war (201 BC), the institution of the dictatorship appears to have fallen into abeyance During the later Republic, in a great emergency (ultima necessitas) the senate could pass a special decree (senatus consultum ultimum) that armed the consuls with additional... an act performed ‘contra ius’ Furthermore, the application of a lex was typically strict, as an act or dispute was tackled according to the letter of the law without reference to the circumstances of the individual case On the other hand, the norms of ius were construed as flexible and thus adaptable to the circumstances of each particular case Whereas the implementation of a lex was based on formal... FAC E Emperor Justinian In analysing institutional change in the legal system of ancient Rome, the present work combines the perspectives of legal history with those of social, political and cultural history, giving full weight to non -legal factors and historical events that prompted or contributed to that change Since Roman legal history is too long to treat as a whole, it has been divided into a. .. with the later part of the Republic; the classical period covers most of the first part of the imperial era, known as the Principate; and the post-classical period embraces the final years of the Principate and the late Empire or Dominate, including the age of Justinian (AD 527–65) Although the above divisions facilitate the study of Roman law, one must recall that Roman law evolved gradually and therefore... kings The formation of the Roman city-state probably derived from a gradual process whereby several neighbouring clans (gentes) coalesced to form a larger political entity under a common head, the king (rex) From a legal standpoint, the establishment of the civitas Romana may be attributed to an arrangement resembling a treaty (foedus) between the various patres gentium Naturally, the framework of the . as his work on legal history and comparative law, he has published extensively in the areas of criminal law and jurisprudence. A LEGAL HISTORY OF ROME A LEGAL HISTORY OF ROME George Mousourakis First. originated in ancient Rome, and the Roman legal institutions comprise a vital part of the background of several contemporary legal systems. A study of Roman legal history also provides valuable. Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mousourakis, George. A legal history