Roman Law

Actus reus

Criminal act; an essential element for a crime in Roman law.

Absolvo

Acquittal.

Abigeatus

Rustling; a specific subspecies of theft.

Actio de posito et suspenso

An action relating to something that has been placed or hung out, carried out against the owner of a structure when an obstruction injured passers-by.

Actio de rebus effusis vel deiectis

An action relating to things which have been thrown out, allowing passers-by to seek redress for damage caused.

Actio servi corrupti

An action concerning situations where a person negatively influenced another’s slave.

Ad agendum

To prepare a case for the court.

Ad cavendum

To draft documents; the process of preparing written formulas for lawsuits or transactions.

Ad respondendum

To answer legal questions and offer legal advice.

Aedile

An official in charge of state archives and public works; could influence laws regarding the marketplace.

Ambitus

Criminal conduct related to elections, such as bribery.

Apud iudicem

The time a case would be heard by a judge.

Augurs

Officials in charge of auspices and augury.

Calumnia

Bringing false charges; a criminal offence for an accuser.

Centumviri

Large juries used for disputes involving inheritance of large estates.

Civis

Latin for citizen.

Cognitio extraordinario

An extraordinary procedure where the emperor or appointed official heard the entire case.

Comitia

An assembly.

Comitia centuriata

An assembly of Roman citizens organized by wealth into 'centuries'.

Comitia curiata

An assembly primarily witnessing or authorizing wills and adoptions.

Comitia tributa

An assembly organized by location of residence that elects officials and votes on laws.

Concilium plebis

An assembly of plebeians organized by tribe.

Condemno

A conviction.

Condemnatio

Instruction to judge for finding the defendant liable or not.

Contiones

Public meetings for debating and discussion.

Cursus honorum

A regular order of elected offices established after the Second Punic War.

Damnum iniuria datum

Property damage.

Decreta

Legal decisions rendered by the emperor in various cases.

Delictum

Crime or unintentional tort.

De residuis

Embezzlement; unlawful appropriation of entrusted money.

Dolus

Criminal intent.

Edictum perpetuum

The final form of the praetorian and aedilician edicts.

Effractores

Burglars who broke into apartments.

Equites

Individuals who bid on contracts for public business.

Exceptio

A legal institution created by praetors for protecting rights.

Expilatores

Thieves who ransacked homes in the countryside.

Falsum

Forgery.

Flagrante delicto

Caught red-handed.

Furtum manifestum

A type of theft where the thief is caught during the act.

Furtum nec manifestum

A type of theft where the thief is not caught during the act.

Glossa

Comments and laws.

Honestiores

More privileged citizens, e.g. army veterans.

Imperium

The power to command.

In iure

The first stage of the three phases in Roman law.

Iniuria

Personal injury, affecting reputation or bodily integrity.

Inscriptio

The written record by the court president for the prosecutor to sign.

Institutiones

An official textbook on Roman law.

Intentio

The statement of the plaintiff’s claim in a legal formula.

Intercessio

Veto power against magistrates of equal or lower status.

Interdictio aquae et ignis

Banishment/exile; prohibition of water and fire.

Iudex

Latin for 'judge'.

Iudicis nominatio

Part of the typical formula which nominates a judge.

Iudex qui litem suam fecit

A judge who made a case his own.

Ius Aelianum

A collection of judicial formulae for lawsuits.

Ius Flavianum

Another collection of formulae for lawsuits.

Ius gentium

Law of the peoples, applicable to disputes involving foreigners.

Ius occidendi

The right of killing, associated with family authority.

Ius honorarium

Law resulting from the praetors’ edicts.

Ius privatum

Rules concerning property, family, and personal interests.

Ius publicum

Laws that deal with interests of the whole community.

Ius respondendi ex auctoritate principis

Law of responding by authority of the princeps.

Ius vocatio

Bringing a defendant before the praetor by formal summons.

Laudatores

Character witnesses.

Leges

Statutes adopted by the populus romanus.

Legis actiones

The early form of civil procedure.

Lenocinium

Conduct facilitating sexual crime.

Lex Aquilia

Law governing damage to property, established rights against injury.

Lex Calpurnia

Established a permanent court with senators as jurors.

Lex Canuleia

Law allowing plebeians to intermarry with patricians.

Lex Cornelia de iniuriis

Law against personal injury and forced entry.

Lex Cornelia nummaria

Earliest law to criminalize counterfeiting of money.

Lex Fabia

Criminalized selling a Roman citizen who belonged to another.

Lex Hortensia

Decreed that enactments of the concilium plebis had the force of law.

Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis

Law granting authority for punishing adultery.

Lex Ogulnia

Allowed plebeians to become pontifices.

Lex Pompeia

Criminalized parricide as a distinct offense.

Lex talionis

Law on retribution;

Litis contestatio

Appearance of parties before the praetor to initiate a suit.

Licinian Sextian law

Required one consul elected each year to be a plebeian.

Maiestas

Treason; included armed assault on the State.

Maius imperium

The greater power to command held by senior magistrates.

Mancipatio

The act of transferring property such as land, slaves, and cattle.

Mens rea

A guilty mind.

Mos maiorum

Customs of the ancestors.

Nominis delatio

Trial began with naming the accused attended by both parties.

Novella

New laws adopted after the Corpus Iuris were written.

Obligatio/obligationes

Legal relationships between creditors and debtors.

Paterfamilias

Head of the household.

Peculatus

Wrongsful appropriation of public funds; typically punished by banishment.

Perduellio

Treasonous conduct in earlier Republic with severe penalties.

Per formulam

Formulary procedure that replaced legis actiones.

Plagium

Kidnapping.

Plebiscita

Enactments of the concilium plebis.

Pontifices

Pontiffs that regulated the initiation of lawsuits.

Populus Romanus

The Roman people.

Praefectus vigilum

Prefect of the Night Watch.

Praetor

Officials in charge of the judiciary and legal system.

Praetor peregrinus

A praetor dealing with disputes involving foreigners.

Praetor urbanus

Praetor handle matters concerning Roman citizens.

Praescriptio

General comment concerning the wrong.