Table of ContentsIntroductionAncient LawEarly Legal CodeApplication of Roman LawConclusionIntroduction Roman law was the law that was in force throughout antiquity in the city of Rome and later in the Empire Roman. When Roman rule over Europe ended, Roman law was largely – but not completely – forgotten. (Ancient Rome, Compton's 96)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The first code of Roman law was the Law of the Twelve Tables. It was formalized in 451-450 BC from existing oral law by ten magistrates, called decemvirs, and inscribed on bronze tablets, displayed in the main Roman Forum. According to tradition, the code was written to appease the plebs, who claimed that their liberties were not sufficiently protected by the unwritten law as interpreted by patrician judges. (Ancient Rome, Compton's 96) Originally, ten law tablets were inscribed; two more tablets were added the following year. The tablets were destroyed during the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BC, but a number of the laws are known through references in later Latin literature. The Twelve Tables covered all categories of law and also provided specific punishments for various offenses. The code underwent frequent modifications but remained in force for almost 1000 years. In the 6th century, a commission appointed by the Roman Emperor Justinian consolidated all sources of law, resulting in the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law). The Corpus Juris did not have an immediate effect in Western Europe, but in the second half of the 11th century it was rediscovered in Italy. The study of law based on the Corpus Juris was instituted in European universities, and the Corpus Juris became an important part of continental law. (Ancient Rome, Compton's 96) Combined with canon law and merchant customs, they formed a body of law known throughout continental Europe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the authority of the Corpus Juris began to decline as it was reexamined. The stage was set for the codification of modern civil law. In the 19th century, most civil law countries codified most of their legal statutes. Ancient Law Before the Twelve Tables, the law of Rome was religious in character and its interpretation rested on the priests, who were members of the patrician class. The complaints and agitation of the plebs, of the people, led to the reduction in writing of existing legal customs and the addition of new principles unknown in customary law. The law of the Twelve Tables thus drafted was submitted and accepted by the popular assembly. This code set out simple rules adapted to an agricultural community; it established equal law for patricians and plebs and was considered by the Romans to be the source of all public and private law. The legal system established by this code and the body of rules that developed within it applied exclusively to Roman citizens and was known as jus civile. (Ancient Rome, Compton's 96) The laws of the Twelve Tables are one of the earliest existing codes of law. Covering both civil and criminal matters, it is commonly accepted that these laws served to codify existing customs. They not only provide valuable insight into Roman law, but also into Roman culture. Here are some excerpts from the translated version. Kill quickly... a terribly deformed child. If a father delivers his son three times to sell him, the son will be free from his father. A child born ten months after the death of the father will not be admitted to thelegal succession. Women will remain under guardianship even when they reach their majority... with the exception of the Vestal Virgins. The spender is prohibited from exercising administration over his own property. People need to repair the roads. If they don't keep them paved, everyone will drive their animals wherever they want. It is permissible to gather fruit falling on another man's farm. If anyone has sung or composed against another person a song likely to slander or insult others, he will be bludgeoned to death. If anyone has mutilated another's limb, let there be retaliation in kind, unless he reaches an agreement with him. Mixed marriages cannot take place between plebeians and patricians. The effects of Roman domination The conquest of the Mediterranean basin forced the Romans to develop a new system of law. Each conquered territory had its own system, and it required a set of laws applicable to both citizens and subjects. Between 367 BC and 137 AD, the new law was developed from the edicts of the praetor, or magistrate, who defined and interpreted the law in individual cases. The praetor of foreigners administered justice to Rome in all controversies, except those in which both parties were citizens; the praetor, or provincial magistrate, modeled his edicts in matters of commercial interest on the edict of the foreign praetor in Rome. (Civil Law, Comptons 96) During the last century of the republic, the rules of the new system were generally applicable to controversies between Roman citizens. This new legal system was known as jus gentium. The extension of citizenship during the years 100 BC to 212 AD to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire made obsolete the distinction between jus gentium and jus civile, and the law of the city or jus civile of Rome became the law of the empire. Provincial diversities were erased by Senate and emperor legislation and legal interpretation. The most significant development in the Roman legal system of this period was the right granted by the first Roman emperor Augustus and his successors to eminent jurists to issue responsa, or opinions. , on legal cases judged before the courts. Among the most famous of these Roman jurists were Gaius (flourished in the 2nd century AD), Papinianus, Julius Paulus (flourished in the 3rd century AD), and Ulpian, the last three of whom successively held the position of prefectus praetoria, or minister of justice of the Roman Empire. Empire. (Ancient Rome, Counting 96)Augustus, the first ruler of Rome after it became an empire, restored civil order, peace, and prosperity to a Rome that had suffered decades of civil war. Born Gaius Octavius ​​​​and adopted by Julius Caesar, he was given the name Augustus, meaning "consecrated", by the Roman Senate after avenging Caesar's death and consolidating his power. He later received the title imperator, from which the word "emperor" is derived. (Ancient Rome, Counting 96) Octavian Augustus was truly the greatest civil leader the ancient world has ever produced. When he came to Rome after the murder of Caesar, his only possessions were an inherited name and all the attraction that his youth could bring him; but with cold and sagacious steps he progressed rapidly towards Caesar's policy of vengeance. Thanks to his common sense, his moderation and his conscientious regard for duty, Augustus won the support of all the major elements of the Mediterranean world. In many provinces, which now enjoyed more prudent government and suffered less from extortion, he was made a god and the month of his final achievement was named in his honor. Augustus lived to be 76 years old. During his lastyear he revised an account of the great deeds he had accomplished for the Roman state. The original version from Rome has disappeared, but another copy of this work, engraved on the Temple of Augustus at Ancyra, still survives. In his administration of the Roman Empire, the disaster that most distressed Augustus took place in Germany. While Augustus remained at peace with Parthia, he advanced the Roman frontier into Europe as far as the Danube and the Rhine. By this advance, he subjected modern Switzerland, Austria, a large part of Hungary and the Balkans to Roman domination and protected the connections between the western and eastern provinces of the Empire; no other Roman ruler made suchadditions. (Augustus Caesar, Counting 96) In 9 AD, Varies, the governor of Germany, was lured into a trap and three Roman legions were wiped out; all of Germany was lost. As Augustus had neither the energy nor the military strength to undertake a reconquest, the Roman frontier remained essentially on the Rhine. Yet the Mediterranean world achieved peace and prosperity under the rule of Augustus, who was celebrated in temples, statues, and dedications as an earthly redeemer. The Empire was expensive in men for its armed forces and in money to support the political system, but the economic expansion that accompanied it bore these burdens without great difficulty for two centuries and more. Early Legal Code In the 3rd century AD, decrees or laws issued by emperors took on increasing importance in the Roman legal system. Theodosius II, ruler of the Byzantine Empire, published in 438 AD the first codification of this imperial legislation, the Codex Theodosianus. Theodosius considered, but did not carry out, a broader plan, involving an official summary of the ancient law, as expounded in the legal literature. Subsequently, Justinian I appointed a committee of ten jurists, the most famous of whom was his principal minister of law, Tribonian, to draw up such a summary. (Exouedate.com)In the 6th century AD, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian (Iustinianus) ordered the compilation of several codes of laws. These codes were based on much older sources of law, primarily statutes and legal writings from the classical period. These were the Institutes (Institutiones), the Digest (Digesta or Pandectae) and the Code (Codex). The Institutes is a widely copied book from The Institutes of Gaius – written 300 years before. The rules contained in the Institutes have received the force of law in many countries; therefore, the work can be considered both a manual and a law. The Digest is a collection of fragments of scholarly writings. Like the rules contained in the Institutes, the legal opinions expressed in these fragments often had the force of law. The Code is a set of Imperial laws. The Novellae are a collection of laws issued by Justinian and his successors. The revised Codex Constitutionum was a compilation of all imperial laws up to 534 AD. The law books published by Justinian, the Institutiones, the Digesta and the Codex, as well as the Novellae, are collectively known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. (Exouedate.com)Application of Roman Law In medieval times (from around the 11th century), there was a revival of interest in Roman law. Initially, Roman law was only studied by scholars and taught in universities, with Bologna being the first place where Roman law was taught. Soon, Roman law was applied in legal practice, especially in the area of ​​civil law. (Civil Law, Comptons 96) This process of (re)adoption (reception) of Roman law occurred at various times and to varying degrees throughout Europe (England being the most notable exception)..