The Praetors
- Roman law was codified for the first time in 450 BC. Known as the 12 Tables.
- It dealt with general rules for behavior
- The Praetor administered the laws from 366 BC.
- All decisions given by the Praetors were recorded.
- The Praetors studied carefully the past decisions of previous Praetors and slowly a whole system of legal precedents was established which became the basis for Roman Law.
- Gradually a law developed called the Jus Gentium, which applied to all the inhabitants of the empire.
Lawyers and Judges
- Flexibility and adaptability were the two main characteristics of Roman law.
- Besides the Praetors, a well defined class of legal experts, the Juris Prudentes, were the lawyers of Rome
- Civil lawsuits were tried by a judge (selected by senators from both parties involved).
- The judges verdict was final.
- Criminal cases were decided by jurors (a panel of 50-75 men)
- Majority votes determined the verdict after the defense challenged and cross-examined the witnesses.
Later Developments
- Roman law reached its greatest development in the 2nd Cent. AD.
- During the reign of the emperor Hadrian, all the laws were codified for the 1st time
- The final codification (series of volumes) was in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian
- Justinian's work Corpus Juris Civilis (the body of civil law) contained the entire legal history of Rome for 1000 years (property transactions, contracts, inheritance, wills, commercial dealings, murder, robbery, divorce, women's rights, and international obligations.
Influence
- Roman law civilized the world, because wherever Rome conquered, they took
their legal concepts with them and implanted them so strongly that they are still
functioning in many parts of Europe today.
- The use of a professional lawyer class
- rules of evidence
- rights of defendants
- concept of innocent until proven guilty
- deeply influenced the western world