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The rule of law in Ancient Rome /

The ideal of the rule of law - that the law should protect all citizens from arbitrary exercises of power - can be traced from ancient Greece to the present day. The Roman contribution to the rule of law tradition has been largely overlooked, however, both in rule-of-law scholarship and recent consi...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Cowan, Eleanor (Eleanor Rachel) (Editor), Morrell, Kit (Editor), Pettinger, Andrew (Editor), Sevel, Michael (Editor)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2025.
Subjects:
Roman law.
Rule of law > Rome.
Droit romain.
Règle de droit > Rome.
Ancient.
HISTORY.
Legal History.
LAW.
Roman law
Rule of law
Rome.
Jurisprudence & general issues.
Law.
Electronic books.
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Table of Contents:
  • Cover
  • The Rule of Law in Ancient Rome
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • List of Contributors
  • Introduction
  • Acknowledgements
  • Dedication
  • Part I: Framing Questions
  • 1: The Rule of Law A Thought Pattern
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Pattern
  • (a) The society has law (that is a legal system) and the law 'rules'
  • (b) When it (the legal system) has certain characteristics
  • (c) The system protects members of that community
  • (d) From something regarded as bad or undesirable
  • III. Further Observations
  • IV. Conclusion
  • 2 : In Search of a Roman Rule of Law
  • I. The Background
  • II. Some Roadblocks
  • III. Potential Ways Forward
  • IV. Conclusions
  • PART II: The Republic
  • 3: Cato and the Rule of Law
  • I. Definitions
  • II. The Law Should Rule
  • III. Prospectivity
  • IV. Generality
  • V. Problem Cases
  • VI. Cato above the Law?
  • VII. Some Reflections-And the Road Ahead
  • 4: The Populus and the Rule of Law
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Changeability of Law
  • III. Protecting Law from the People
  • IV. From Theory to Practice
  • V. The Opposing View: Whatever the People Order?
  • VI. Conclusion: Tradition and Innovation
  • 5: 'Rule of Law' and the Gods in the Late Republic
  • I. Expectations of the 'Rule of Law' in the Republic
  • II. The Role of the Gods: Consultation and Control in 59 BCE
  • III. Responses and Reactions in the Fifties BCE
  • IV. Conclusions
  • 6: The Praetor's Edict and the Rule of Law
  • I. The Formulary System and Its Antecedents
  • II. Arbitrariness and Instability
  • III. Regulating a Magistrate
  • IV. The Lex Cornelia of 67 BCE and Its Limitations
  • V. The Jurists and the Praetor's Edict
  • VI. The Presence of 'Thought Patterns'
  • VII. Nature of the Roman Experience
  • VIII. Conclusion
  • 7: Non Iure Rogata The People, the Senate, and the Rule of Law in Republican Rome
  • I. Legislation and the Rule of Law
  • II. Annulment
  • III. The Senate Acts
  • IV. The Lex Caecilia Didia
  • V. The Emergence of Senatorial Annulment
  • VI. Violence
  • VII. Senatorial Restraint
  • VIII. Roman Institutions and the Rule of Law
  • 8: Not in the Last Instance
  • I. Pro Rabirio Perduellionis
  • II. Laws without Courts?
  • III. De Legibus in General
  • IV. Conclusion
  • Part III: Principate and Empire
  • 9: Aspiration, Accountability, and Abuse Augustus and the Law in Post-Conflict Rome
  • I. Aspiration for the Return of the (Rule of?) Law: Law, Legitimate Authority, and Leadership
  • II. Calling for Accountability and Calling Out Abuse: The Death of Quintus Gallius
  • III. What Is the Relationship between Augustus and the Law? The Trial of Marcus Primus
  • IV. Conclusion
  • 10: Princeps Legibus Solutus Est an Non? Cultures of Legality in the Roman Empire
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Conceptual Framework: The 'Rule of Law' and 'Cultures of Legality'
  • III. The Princeps and the Law
  • Imperial adjudication
  • Petition and response