Roman law

Roman Law is the legal system of ancient Rome. The development of Roman law covers more than a thousand years from the law of the twelve tables (from 449 BC) to the codification of Emperor Justinian I (around 530). Roman law as preserved in Justinian's codes became the basis of legal practice in the Byzantine Empire and—later— in continental Western Europe

The afterlife of Roman law in the middle ages and in modern times

Roman law in the eastern empire

In the Byzantine Empire, the codes of Justinian became the basis of legal practice. In the 9th century, the emperors Basileios I and Leon VI commissioned a combined translation of the Code and the Digest into Greek, which became known as the Basilica. Roman law as preserved in the codes of Justinian and in the Basilika remained the basis of legal practice in Greece and in the courts of the Orthodox Church even after the fall of the Byzantine empire and the conquest by the Turks.

Related Topics:
Byzantine Empire - 9th century - Basileios I - Leon VI - Basilica - Orthodox Church

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Roman law in the west

In the west, Justinian?s codes were almost immediately forgotten. While the Code and the Institutes remained known (though they had little influence on legal practice in the early Middle Ages), the Digest was completely ignored for several centuries. Around 1070 however, a manuscript of the Digest was rediscovered in Italy. From that time, scholars began to study the ancient Roman legal texts and to teach others what they learned from their studies. The center of these studies was Bologna. The law school there gradually developed in one of Europe?s first universities.

Related Topics:
1070 - Bologna

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The students, who were taught Roman law in Bologna (and later in many other places) found that many rules of Roman law were better suited to regulate complex economic transactions than the customary rules, which were applicable throughout Europe. For this reason, Roman law, or at least some provisions borrowed from it, began to be re-introduced into legal practice, centuries after the end of the Roman empire. This process was actively supported by many kings and princes who employed university-trained jurists as counselors and court officials and sought to benefit from rules like the famous Princeps legibus solutus est (The sovereign is not bound by the laws).

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By the middle of the 16th century, the rediscovered Roman law dominated the legal practice in most European countries. A legal system, in which Roman law was mixed with elements of canon law and of Germanic custom, especially feudal law, had emerged. This legal system, which was common to all of continental Europe (and Scotland) was known as Ius Commune. This Ius Commune and the legal systems based on it are usually refered to as civil law in English-speaking countries.

Related Topics:
Canon law - Feudal law - Scotland - Civil law

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Only England did not take part in the reception of Roman law. One reason for this is the fact that the English legal system was more developed than its continental counterparts by the time Roman law was rediscovered. Therefore, the practical advantages of Roman law were less obvious to English practitioners than to continental lawyers. Later, the fact that Roman law was associated with the Holy Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church and with absolutism made Roman law unacceptable in England. Even so, some concepts from Roman law made their way into the common law. Especially in the early 19th century, English lawyers and judges were willing to borrow rules and ideas from continental jurists and directly from Roman law.

Related Topics:
Holy Roman Empire - Roman Catholic Church - Absolutism

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The practical application of Roman law and the era of the European Ius Commune came to an end, when national codifications were made. In 1804, the French civil code came into force. In the course of the 19th century, many European states either adopted the French model or drafted their own codes. In Germany, the political situation made the creation of a national code of laws impossible. In some parts of Germany, Roman law continued to be applied until the German civil code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) came into force in 1900.

Related Topics:
1804 - Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - 1900

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Roman law today

Today, Roman law is no longer applied in legal practice, even though the legal systems of some states like South Africa and San Marino are still based on the old Ius Commune. However, even where the legal practice is based on a code, many rules deriving from Roman law apply: No code completely broke with the Roman tradition. Rather, the provisions of Roman law were fitted into a more coherent system and expressed in the national language. For this reason, knowledge of Roman law is indispensable to understand the legal systems of today. Thus, Roman law is often still a mandatory subject for law students in civil law jurisdictions.

Related Topics:
South Africa - San Marino

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As steps towards a unification of the private law in the member states of the European Union are being taken, the old Ius Commune, which was the common basis of legal practice everywhere, but allowed for many local variants, is seen by many as a model.

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