Why Are Roman Laws Important Today

571 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Formal legal equality

The Roman laws are important to the ancient world and today. Many of these laws are still in use in the United States. I selected three of the laws that I think are still very important. I chose: 1) all free people have equal rights before the law, 2) judges must interpret the law and make a decision fairly, and 3) people have rights that no government can take away. These laws are still very important to us today. The next paragraphs will explain why the Roman laws are essential laws now and then.

The first law I thought was very important was all free people have equal rights before the law. I think this is important because if you have equal rights before the law you're allowed to have a fair case and ruling. The American government and Roman both recognize the importance of this law, of having equal rights before the law. Lastly if people didn't have equal rights or consequences regarding the law it would be completely unfair to the people who got a more severe punishment. This is why the law of all free people who have equal rights before the law is very important to a government and nation. …show more content…

The first reason I chose this one was because if a judge has a biased opinion on a case it would not be a fair trial for the defendant. The next reason I chose this one is because if a judge does not make a decision fairly the case will be fixed from the beginning, so if the judge doing the ruling does not like the defendant he is not making a fair decision. Governments have been using this law since ancient Roman times, America has acknowledged the fact that judges should be fair and just before the law. This is why this is one of the most important laws to our legal

Show More
Related

  • Rome's Contributions To Western Civilization

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout time, it has been said that the Romans have made some major contributions when it came to Western civilization. A plethora of the contributions were in the categories of the law and engineering. In the law field, Romans left behind a great legacy for Western civilization, for instance one contribution being their Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables established written rules of criminal and civil law. Not only with the Twelve Tables, but they developed the distinction between public law in which the state is concerned directly and private law which involves disputes between persons, the process of making laws has also had an influence on modern democratic political systems. During the Roman Republic, lawmaking was a bicameral activity and legislation was passed by an assembly of the citizens. It was then approved by the representatives of the upper class, or the senate, and issued in the name of the senate and the people of Rome. Many countries like the United States have adopted the republican Rome as a reproduction for their own governments.

    Read More

  • Dual Court System Q&A

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    among the nation's founders about the need for individual states to retain significant legislative authority and judicial autonomy separate from federal control. The reason why we have a dual-court system is, back then; new states joining the union were assured of limited federal intervention into local affairs. The state legislatures were free to create laws, and state court systems were needed to hear cases in which violations of those laws occurred. Today, however, state courts do not hear cases involving alleged violations of federal law, nor do federal courts involve themselves in deciding issues of state law unless there is a conflict between local or state statues and federal constitutional guarantees. When that happens, claimed violations of federal due process guarantees especially those found in the Bill of Rights.

    Read More

  • Romans Influence On American Culture

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    These laws were unique due to how they handled justice and how it displayed the enforcement of basic human rights, inspiring and influencing some of the laws created and used today in the U.S. In document 3 it reported that, ”we inherited the beliefs that no man could be accused anonymously and that he was innocent until proven guilty.” They were able to give restrictions, but still let everyone have their fair amount of rights and freedom, so that everything is balance and no one can harm each other’s rights. Just like the Romans the U.S. follows the same principles and laws so that everything is fair. These laws are prevalent and seen and used a lot through the news, media, social media, and more. They are seen during trials of people where lawyers and attorneys are called to debate and have reasons to why someone is guilty but they are still given the same rights no matter what until the very end when the decision is made. With this people can’t be unfairly accused and unfairly penalized. Justice and the rights of an individual are very important in modern day U.S. but it’s the Romans who first understood this and created this which has helped many U.S.

    Read More

  • The Second Amendment: Why It Is Important to Our Country

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified effective by Congress. These first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America promised the states certain rights and freedoms which could not be infringed by the government. After all, the founding fathers knew from experience that men in their weakness were often tempted by power. They had become all too familiar with this when under the control of King George in England. Therefore, in order to protect the future people of their beautiful country, they promised certain liberties which could not be taken away. Every single one of these freedoms is important for the United States of America. However, the second amendment is especially important to our nation because it allows the people to protect their freedom and defend themselves and the common good against an overreaching government.

    Read More

  • Compare The Difference Between Declaration Of The Rights Of Woman And Female Citizens

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    These laws went as far as the judicial system being that all men are in the eyes of the law innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt guilty. This means depending on the case and crime all punishments must be reasonable according to the evidence. Including the right to a fair trial. No man is to be prosecuted based on solei religious reasoning. Continuing down the list man demanded the right to free speech. One of the last laws that not everyone was extremely excited about but was equally in on was the plan that all men pay taxes

    Read More

  • Roman Empire Dbq Essay

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Roman Empire has effected our world in lots of ways, one of the biggest was there government, some of their laws are still used around the world, and in the United States of America. In document 4, the text describes their twelve tables, " The penalty shall be capital punishment for a judge who has been found guilty of receiving a bribe". This shows how it was illegal to bribe a judge,back in Roman times, and is still against the law in today's time.

    Read More

  • The Roman Republic Government: A More Just Government

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 509 BC, the Tarquin line of kings was drawn from power and Rome began its stand as a Republic. The changes in the government and society of Rome were immense and were for the improvement of the city and its people. This aspiring new Republic did not flourish overnight into the perfect society; with the birth of the Republic came many new problems. Yet, it would be hard to imagine our modern society which we deem as democratic and just, not resting on the pillars and foundations that the Roman Republic gave us of their ideas on government branches with a system of checks and balances as well as the code of law created by the Romans.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Code Dbq

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, the world’s oldest and most structured set of laws were created to protect all

    Read More

  • The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...as created to get slaves who run to the north back to the south, without trial of jury. The reason was that the Judge was paid to show unfairness, to side with the south rather than the suffering individual. This angered the north and their belief towards slavery, so they created another law which replaced the Fugitive Slave Law, it was called the “personal liberty” laws.

    Read More

  • The Twelve Tables

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rome was changing. The people of Rome were changing. The citizens of Rome were getting tired of being ruled by others. They wanted to rule themselves. So after years of fighting against the last king of Rome, who was Tarquin the Proud, the people of Rome took over, and created a new form of government called a republic (Mr.Donn). In Rome’s republic, citizens of Rome would vote for their own leaders. Now, Rome was not ruled by heirs to the throne, but by the power of citizens that strove to become great leaders. From 509 to 82 BCE, the Republic of Rome thrived. In 451 BCE, ten men were chosen to write the first ten tables of the Twelve Tables after long opposition by the patricians to publicly educate people about the rights they had. One of these ten men was lucky enough to write the last two “tables” to make The Twelve Tables. Some of the rights included in The Twelve Tables were a person’s innocence until proven guilty and a person’s right to pay off debt. During this time, the Roman Republic annihilated Carthage and poured salt on their fields as Rome grew and became stronger. When 82 BCE came around, Cornelius Sulla, a conniving dictator took over Rome when he named...

    Read More

  • Understanding the First and Second Amendments

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is important because it will prevent a defendant from sitting in prison forever and insist that the prosecution proceeds with undue delay. It protects you from being imprisoned for an unreasonable length of time before your trial.

    Read More

  • Roman Pater Familias

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example their rules that had to be followed when murdering a daughter for committing adultery, Ulpian in case 96 says that in order for him to kill her the father must also kill the daughters lover, immediately. Only by doing both can the father get away with his actions. These laws were probably created to stop men from scheming and using adultery as an excuse to kill political or business rivals. Another contingency is that he must catch her and her lover in his own house; both of these rules seem to attempt to stop false accusations of adultery that could benefit the father. In another scenario for a father to be able to kill his son he first must summon senators to a consillium and put his case before them to receive permission to kill his son. The example given by Valerius Maximus in case 90 is that the son is planning with the fathers wife to kill him, by doing this and gaining permission his filicide is legal. The senate and their ability to refuse his plea and not allow him to murder his son limit his paternal power. This is where the law steps in to try and prevent unjust deaths.

    Read More

  • Rome's History: The History Of Rome

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    Their first contributions were in laws and politics. They created equal rights, individual rights, and prosperity. They also created a list of legal codes that are similar to America’s laws, such as, “No one [is] to be convicted on suspicion alone… [for it is] better for the crime of a guilty person to be left unpunished than for an innocent person to be condemned,” (Bollinger, 87). Another advancement that was made under Rome was in Latin literature and languages, specifically in poetry. Poetry, along with the Roman Games, was greatly influenced by the

    Read More

  • Roman Culture: The Culture Of Roman And Greek Culture

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    To being with, the most important part of any society, in theory, is its government. Though the Roman Republic was a Republic in name, it isn't much like the United States, or any other Republican State for that matter; however, there still are a few characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic that influence many governments today, including the United States'. The Roman government had three distinct branches, all with powers that can control the other branch if it abuses it's power (Checks and balances). Equally important, the Roman government included the position of the Senate and the veto, which still play a major role in many present day government. Based off the Romans, many other governments also used the Roman idea of Civil Law, which are codes of law and codes of punishment, used to judge a

    Read More

  • Classicism Essay

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rome was different in many ways from Greece which reflected the practicality of the Romans. Rome distinguished itself “by its belief in law-imperial law, God’s law and church law-and by its Christian belief in human love and forgiveness.” The classical period of the Romans began around 500 B.C.E and ended around 500 A.D. Early Rome was a republic, with a general body of law called the Twelve Tables. Hitchens traces the Roman emphasis on law from its origins to the development of the idea of universal law. The Romans were also influenced by Judaism and Christianity which spread from the eastern province of Judea. Canon law of the Catholic Church drew upon the message of Jesus and used Roman law as its foundation to help the Church to govern. The emphasis placed by the Romans on law can bee seen in its institutions and

    Read More

More about Why Are Roman Laws Important Today

Open Document