Roman Law Overview and Key Concepts

The Roman Republic ended with the expulsion of the last king, Tarquinius Superbus.

Two annual officials, initially called praetors and later consuls, replaced the single ruler with a life tenure.

The rex sacrorum was appointed to oversee the military and political functions of the Republic.

The Senate was originally a solely patrician body, but plebeians eventually gained access due to their struggle for equal rights.

The Senate nominated its own members and, therefore, controlled its own composition.

The auctoritas patrum was a formality that granted the Senate the right to approve laws made by the assembly.

The lex Publilia Philonis of b.c. 339 ensured that the auctoritas patrum was given after a matter was submitted to the people.

The increasing number of plebeians in the Senate diminished the significance of the auctoritas patrum.

Jus gentium is also known as the 'law of the peoples'.

The core law, jus civile, included legal customs applicable to both citizens and non-citizens.

The jus gentium developed through a single planned effort by Roman lawmakers.

The Praetor Urbanus was responsible for legal cases primarily involving foreign individuals.

The edicts of the Peregrine Praetor were the sole cause of the emergence of jus gentium in Roman law.

Jus naturale represents universal principles of fairness believed to be rational.

Most Roman legal experts embraced the concept of jus naturale as instinctual law shared by all animals.

The concept of jus gentium was shaped significantly by the needs of a diverse society.

The comitia curiata primarily passed laws of general application.

In ancient Rome, patricians were believed to be the only original citizen body.

Clients in Rome were independent citizens with no connections to patrician houses.

The relationship between a patron and a client was considered sacred in Roman society.

The Law of the Twelve Tables was indifferent to the treatment of clients by patrons.

Virgil in the Aeneid depicts patrons who betray clients as being rewarded in the afterlife.

The distinctions between patricians, plebeians, and clients are clearly understood and undisputed in Roman history.

Clientage as a social institution was unique to Rome.

During the time of Rome's kings, formal laws as we understand them likely existed.

Pomponius wrote during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.

According to Pomponius, Romulus proposed laws to the Comitia Curiata.

The Jus Civile Papirianum was said to contain laws that were amended by Papirius.

Cicero criticized the Comitia Curiata for not accurately representing an assembly.

Sextus Papirius is believed to have been the first pontifex maximus of the Republic.

The early laws proposed by the kings were eventually recognized and accepted by the general populace.

The collection of laws attributed to Sextus Papirius was likely of a legal nature.

Curule aediles were originally responsible for controlling the markets in Rome.

The censors were chosen every year to assess citizenship and taxation.

The period known as the 'Principate' featured a clear separation of powers between the Emperor and the Senate.

During the early years of the Roman Empire, the old laws like lex and plebiscitum were still significant sources of Roman law.

The office of quaestor is considered to be held in high esteem compared to other Roman magistracies.

The Senate's role in lawmaking predominantly involved formal approvals of laws proposed by the Emperor.

The cursus honorum was a path through which Romans rose to the consulship.

Julius Caesar became pontifex maximus at the age of fifty.

The Emperor Severus made an important law solely through a documented decision made in the Senate.

The Edictum Perpetuum was created to allow yearly laws to become permanent.

Censors had the power to determine membership in the Senate.

Curule aediles were introduced at the same time as the praetorship.

Rescripts are written responses from the Emperor to inquiries made by the Senate only.

Mandates are specific orders directed towards officials within the Roman government.

Initially, quaestors primarily managed military operations.

The legal system of the Empire integrated direct orders from the Senate without any influence from the Emperor.