What is the concept of Roman law?

The concept of Roman law was that all citizens are protected by written laws which cover all crimes and all aspects of daily life. This body of written laws constantly grew with new decisions by courts, statutes, plebiscites, senatorial decrees, custom, and edicts from the Emperor, magistrates or other higher officials.

Roman laws were made by a variety of individuals and groups in a system that permitted the law to reflect changes in society. The decisions of courts, magistrates and legal experts could change the laws. Decrees by the Roman Senate and the emperor could be made into laws. Votes by the popular assembly and in plebiscites could also be reflected in new laws.

What is the legacy of Roman law?

The legacy of Roman law is a desire to create precisely-worded laws that cover all aspects of a citizen's life within the state. Roman law created an expectation amongst the people that their rights would be protected and there was a system whereby wrongs could be redressed.

Roman Law Timeline

Definition

Roman laws covered all facets of daily life. They were concerned with crime and punishment, land and property ownership, commerce, the maritime and agricultural industries, citizenship, sexuality and prostitution, slavery and manumission, politics, liability and damage to property, and preservation of the peace. We can study these laws today thanks to ancient legal texts, literature, papyri, wax tablets and inscriptions.

More about: Roman Law

Timeline

450 BCE
The laws of the 'Twelve Tables', the basis of Roman law, are compiled.
367 BCE
Law passed enabling Roman plebians to become consuls.
339 BCE
The leges Publilae decrees that one of Rome's two censors must be a plebeian.
c. 242 BCE
Special magistrates (praetor peregrinus) begin to oversee legal disputes concerning non-Roman citizens.
131 CE
The Praetor's Edict is first codified, an annual pronouncement on alterations to Roman law.
212 CE
Caracalla's edict grants Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire.
c. 292 CE
The 'Codex Gregorianus' is compiled, a collection of summaries of Roman legal documents.
295 CE
The 'Codex Hermogenianus' is compiled, a collection of summaries of Roman legal documents.
c. 430 CE - 439 CE
The 'Theodosian Code', a collection of over 2,700 Roman laws is compiled.
528 CE - 534 CE
The 'Codex Iustinianus' is compiled, a collection of summaries of Roman legal documents.
533 CE
The 'Digest' part of the 'Corpus Iuris Civilus' is composed and summarises over 2000 Roman legal documents.

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