Saint Olave's Law Society Journal ; Issue 01 (Autumn 2013) | Página 11

Saint
 Olave’s
 Law
 Society
 Journal

  ROMAN
 LAW
 AND
 JUSTICE

TIMOTHY
 ADELANI

The
 world
 of
 Ancient
 Rome
 has
 had
 so
  many
 lasting
 impacts
 on
 the
 modern
  world
 that,
 as
 we
 walk
 around
 and
 enjoy
  our
 contemporary
 luxuries,
 we
 should
  always
 recognise
 Rome's
 achievements.
  This
 is
 also
 true
 of
 the
 Roman
 law
 and
  justice.
 It
 was
 incredibly
 advanced
 for
  its
 age
 and
 Roman
 law
 gives
 itself
 to
 the
  foundations
 of
 most
 modern
 European
  justice
 systems.
 So
 let's
 take
 a
  backwards
 glance
 at
 this
 system
 of
 law
  and
 justice
 to
 which
 we
 owe
 a
 huge
  debt.

  Before
 the
 transcription
 of
 a
 definite
 set
  of
 laws,
 as
 with
 most
 early
 societies,
  laws
 were
 not
 a
 set
 of
 official
 and
  definite
 rules,
 but
 were
 more
 of
 an
 ad
  hoc
 affair.
 Law
 and
 punishment
 was
 in
  the
 hands
 of
 kings
 or
 priests,
 who
  determined
 what
 was
 and
 was
 not
  allowed
 in
 society.
 This
 changed
 with
  every
 new
 leader,
 either
 social
 or
  spiritual.
 Eventually,
 the
 masses
 decided
  that
 this
 was
 unfair
 and
 the
 system
  should
 be
 changed
 so
 that
 everyone
 had
  equal
 access
 to
 the
 laws.
 This
  culminated
 in
 around
 450
 BC,
 when,
  subsequently
 to
 some
 revolts,
 a
 team
 of
  10
 men
 charged
 with
 coming
 up
 with
 a
  set
 of
 standard
 laws
 for
 all
 Roman
  citizens,
 they
 were
 called
 the
 decemviri
  legibus
 scribundis.
 These
 were
 the
  Twelve
 Tables.
 Some
 of
 these
 laws
 were
  no
 longer
 used
 as
 the
 centuries
 passed,
  yet
 the
 original
 laws
 stated
 in
 the
  Twelve
 Tables
 were
 never
 repealed.
 In
  the
 Tables,
 there
 were
 also
 systems
  detailed
 of
 how
 to
 deal
 with
 different
  crimes
 and
 accusations.
 In
 fact,
 the
  Twelve
 Tables
 are
 the
 earliest
 piece
 of
  Roman
 Latin
 writing
 that
 has
 been
  found.

Roman
 codified
 law
 highlights
 the
  height
 with
 which
 the
 past
 was
  regarded.
 The
 mos
 maiorum,
 or
 ways
 of
  the
 ancestors,
 were
 seen
 as
 an
 ideal
  system
 and
 that
 all
 Romans
 should
 aim
  for
 such
 behaviour.
 Roman
 laws
 also
  accentuate
 the
 way
 they
 thought
 of
  themselves
 as
 better
 and
 more
 civilised
  than
 the
 rest
 of
 their
 subjects.
 This
  stems
 from
 the
 fact
 that
 Roman
  Citizenship
 was
 a
 highly
 sought
 after
  prize
 which
 gave
 the
 holder
 more
 rights.
  We
 can
 see
 laws
 which
 prevent
  intermarriage
 between
 citizens
 and
  noncitizens,
 and
 even
 between
 upper
  and
 lower
 classes.
 The
 Roman
 law
  system
 reflects
 the
 rigidity
 of
 the
 Roman
  social
 system
 and
 we
 can
 learn
 a
 lot
  about
 one
 from
 the
 other.
 Yet
 from
  around
 300BC
 to
 the
 beginning
 of
  Augustus'
 reign
 in
 27
 BC
 we
 can
 see
 and
  increasing
 flexibility
 in
 the
 law.
  Commoners
 were
 increasingly
 able
 to
  access
 higher
 ranks
 of
 government
 such
  as
 praetorship
 and
 the
 consulship.
  Throughout
 the
 Republic,
 the
  constitution
 was
 mostly
 unwritten
 and
  evolved
 with
 the
 state
 itself,
 sometimes

dictated
 by
 precedent.

  Issue
 01

 Autumn
 2013

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