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 divisions of Roman law

1.Ius civile, ius gentium, ius naturale

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ius civile, in Roman state, refered to the law that applied only to roman citizens, while ius gentium refered to the juridical traffic with foreigners, because foreigners could not understand the strict formalism of ius civile. At the end of 300 BC, for juridical traffic with foreigners (besides praetor urbanus), a new juridical magistrate was introduced (praetor peregrius) and a new informal judicial proceeding. Along ius civile and ius gentium, in classical law, a new term is introduced - ius naturale. This was natural law (common law for all beings), that was influenced by christianity of the time.

Related Topics:
Praetor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2.Ius scriptum, ius non scriptum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ius scriptum means written law and ius non scriptum means unwritten law, but they differ from each other by the means of creation and not whether they are put on paper or not. Ius scriptum is the law made by legislature. Roman lawyers included in ius scriptum laws (leges and plebiscita), magistrat's edicts (magistratuum edicta), conclusions of the senate (senatus consulta), responses and thoughts of lawyers (responsa prudentium) and principum placita. Ius non scriptum is customary law, common practice, that becomes binding during time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3.Ius publicum, ius privatum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ius publicum means public law and ius privatum means private law, where public law is to keep interests of Roman state while private law should protect individuals. In roman law ius privatum included: personal, property, civil and criminal law, judicial proceeding was private process (iudicium privatum), and delicts were private (except the most severe ones that were prosecuted by state). Public law will only at the end of Roman state include in its self some areas of private law.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

4.Ius publicum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ius publicum was also used to describe obligatory legal regulations (today called ius cogens). These are regulations that cannot be changed or excluded by party agreement. Those regulations that can be changed are called today ius dispositivum, and they are used when party shares something and are not in opposition.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

5.Ius commune, ius singulare

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ius singulare (singular law) is special law for certain groups of people, things, or legal relations (because of which it is an exception from the general principles of the legal system), unlike general, ordinary, law (ius commune).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~