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 .
Written c. 450, the first written code of Roman law. For Summary, see Prof. Adams' Handout.
From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
In the Empire, the Emperor had complete jurisdiction over all policies and decisions. In the beginnings of the empire, h...
Plutarch, Philip A. Stadter, and Robin Waterfield. "Cato The Elder, Aemilius Paullus, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus." Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Roman Lives. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. 3-115. Print.
In The Constitution of the Roman Republic, Polybius gives an interpretation of what he believed be a successful political system. Using his analytical skills, he sought to find reason regarding why the Romans became so prosperous. Let’s discover in what ways this assessment came to be.
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
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.
Matyszak, Philip. "Septimius Severus." Chronicle of the Roman Republic: the rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2003. 130-137. Print.
"Roman Legal Tradition and the Compilation of Justinian." The Robbins Collection. University of California, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
The Roman Republic began approximately around 509 B.C. when the nobles drove the King and his family out of Rome. This monumental incident helped shape the start to the transformation of the monarchy into a republican governmental system. This is known to have begun by that of the Roman nobles trying to hold their power that they had gained. The Republic was “[a] city-state [which] was the foundation of Greek society in the Hellenic Age; in the Hellenistic Age, Greek cities became subordinate to kingdoms, larder political units ruled by autocratic monarchs” (Perry 105)
-Common Law: the “law of the land”(Pool 127), which was built up over many centuries
The English legal system is ostensibly embedded on a foundation of a ‘high degree of certainty with adaptability’ based on a steady ‘mode’ of legal reasoning. This rests on four propositions
Civil law it also has other names like a continental or Romano-Germanic legal systems, and it acts in about 60% of countries through the world. The civil law modified or localized system which developed and organized on rules, notion and ideas which derived from Roman law, with some influence of canon law with aim of improving relations between human beings and individual freedom. According to the (LSU law center, n.d) there are several benefits of civil law which you can read next. “A comprehensive system of rules and principles usually arranged in codes and easily accessible to citizens and jurists. A well-organized system that favors cooperation, order, and predictability, based on a logical and dynamic taxonomy developed from Roman law and reflected in the structure of the codes. An adaptable system, with civil codes avoiding excessive detail and containing general clauses that permit adaptation to change. A primarily legislative system, yet leaving room for the judiciary to adjust rules to social change and new needs, by way of interpretation and creative jurisprudence”. As written upper, this legal system covers very huge amount of the world. It acts in places like a Spain, China, Japan, Germany, most African nations, all South American nations (except Guyana), most of European countries. Some of them choose this law system voluntarily some of them took this system during the
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.
Halprin, Jean-Louis. "The Concept of Law: A Western Transplant?" Theoretical Inquiries in Law 10, no. 2 (2009) PL 12.