Impact of an Empire: How Roman law ended up in South Africa and Sri Lanka.
An essay by M. Bazuine, student number 2097699
The establishment of a common rule of law is a very powerful driver of cultural integration. It has been suggested that the willingness (and ability) of the Dutch Republic and Great Britain to implement their legal systems in their far-flung colonies that has contributed to their success in establishing a vast global empire . However, it is realized by few that the interplay between the Dutch and the English empire-builders has resulted in the introduction of what is essentially Roman law in both South Africa and Sri Lanka, where it is a legal source for providing justice even today. To think that even to this day, people in court will draw upon the reasoning and thoughts of a scholar like Papianus to receive justice is a testament to the ability of the Romans to deal with legal questions (especially those regarding land, property and ownership).
Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus Augustus, better known as Justinian the Great became the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire in 527 . Shortly after his ascend to power, he initiated a major and well-overdue overhaul of the empire’s legal system. In order to achieve this Justinianus installed a commission headed by the legal scholar (quaestor) Tribonia. The commission ultimately completed its work on what came to be known as the Corpus Iuris Civilis in 534 . The Corpus, which encompasses the whole body of roman imperial law, consists of the Codex Iustinianus, a codification of imperial constitutions dating back to the 2nd century; the Digesta, a compilation of even older legal texts; the Institutiones, in essence a study book explaining the principles of law; and th...
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...h the invasion of France and the adoption of the Napoleonic Code Civil in 1809 (Art. 3 Wetboek Napoleon ingerigt voor het Koningrijk Holland). However, this codified system of law was never introduced in the Dutch settlements of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon, which were taken by the British in 1806 and in 1796 respectively. Now an interesting quirk appears, as it was a settled principle of English law and policy that colonies acquired by conquest retain their old law. Thus, Roman-Dutch law became defined as the “common law” of these territories. As such, Roman-Dutch law has managed to survive to this day, usually in a hybrid form mixed with English law, and will continue to be applied in courts in South-Africa and Ceylon, so long and so far as it remains unrepealed, which can be done (in accordance with Papianus) tacito consensu as well as alia postea lege lata .
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
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.
Shelton, J.A. (1998). As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. (2nd ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.
In this chapter Walton presents how ancient civilizations were governed, through laws and how wisdom influenced the societies in their legal proceedings. The author begins the chapter talking about the treaties that are instructive and informative studies for the different societies. Between the most recognized treaties there were: Ur-Nammu, Eshnunna, and Hammurabi, among others. These treaties are classified into three classes: medical, legal and divination. These treaties influenced the societies imparting wisdom at the time of making decisions, to improve the quality of life and helped the government system to apply justice. These agreements helped to be aware of the good and the bad. These treaties were not laws, but acted as if they were.
Heichelheim, Fritz, Cedric A. Yeo, and Allen M. Ward. A History Of The Roman People. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984.
Due to the constraint of the plebeians, the council of decemviri “was created with the task of regularizing and publishing the laws” (Spielvogel 118). The outcome of this was the creation of the Twelve Tables, published around 450 B.C. which only “led to further agitation from the plebeians” (Spielvogel 118). The benefits of this were t...
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Over the years, different jurisdictions had built their specific system of rules of conduct to govern behaviour. These legal systems, influenced by historical and cultural roots, can be distinguished in two families, the Civil law and the Common law legal systems. The distinctions lies in the process in which each decision is make by the judge and on the legal sources that shapes the law. Indeed, by contrast to the Common law system, which is largely based on Precedents, meaning the decisions that have already been made by judges in similar cases, the Civil law system is based on legislator’s decisions and legal codes with which judges have to justify their judgment . Consequently, instead of referencing to concepts and rules
In the Empire, the Emperor had complete jurisdiction over all policies and decisions. In the beginnings of the empire, h...
-Common Law: the “law of the land”(Pool 127), which was built up over many centuries
...ificantly impacted the evolution of commercial law. The rapid expansion of European economies in the eleventh century exponentially increased the merchant class. The increased number of merchants subsequently led to an increased number of disputes when trading on an international basis. Local governments refused to fulfill the dire need of merchants, thus Law Merchant was created. Rules were established for trading between merchants which would address the previous issues involving hostility, cultural differences, and different trading customs. Courts were formed to settle disputes between the merchants. These courts formed swift and fair judgments through the help of local experts in commerce. However, the government eventually absorbed these courts by copying the Law Merchant’s rules and the Law Merchant faded away until its reappearance several centuries later.
Legal Pluralism is the presence of various legal systems within a single country or a geographical area. Legal Pluralism is omnipresent although it is generally assumed to exist in countries only with a colonial past. This is because in most countries with a colonial past, colonial laws co-exist alongside indigenous laws. However, if we look at the expansive definition of legal pluralism, it can be said that every society or country if legally plural. The modern definition of legal pluralism also deals with the issues of relation between state and non-state legal orders. It shows the dichotomy that exists between customary legal norms and state law. The judiciary of India has upheld this principle of pluralism in many cases by showing that
Firstly in this report, I will be giving the different definitions of rule of law by different philosophers; secondly, I will be applying the rule of law to the English Legal system and thirdly I will be explaining separation of powers with a focus on the impartial judiciary. Finally, I will be using cases to support every detailed point given.