Roman law is not just a collection of ancient civilization's laws. It is the foundation upon which the entire continental (Roman-German) legal system is built, operating in most European, Latin American, as well as Russian and many other states. Even the Anglo-Saxon system (common law) has been indirectly influenced by it. Expressions like "presumption of innocence," "property obliges," and the famous maxim "ex injuria jus non oritur" come to us from Roman jurists.

The uniqueness of Roman law lay in the fact that it was the first in history to separate law from religion and morality, making it a formal, logically structured system. The Romans created legal constructs that were so universal that they survived the fall of their own empire and became the foundation for the law of the new era.

1. Periodization of Roman Law

The evolution of Roman law spans over a thousand years (from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD). Several key periods are identified.

Archaic Period (753–367 BC)

The law of this period was known as "Quiritian" (jus Quiritium). It was strictly formal, had a sacred character, and was accessible only to Roman citizens (Quirites). The main source was the customs of the ancestors (mores maiorum) and the Laws of the Twelve Tables (451–450 BC) — the first written record of Roman law, created to limit the tyranny of patrician priests. These laws were inscribed on copper tablets and displayed on the main square of Rome — the forum.

Classical Period (367 BC – 235 AD)

This was the heyday of Roman jurisprudence. The period began with the Lex Petelia (326 BC), which abolished debt slavery for Roman citizens. It was during this time that the main institutions we still use today were formed: contract law, property law, inheritance, obligations from delicts (wrongdoings). Rhetoric and jurisprudence became the highest art. The most famous jurists of this period were Gaius, Papinian, Paul, Ulpian, Modestinus. It was their works that later laid the foundation for the famous codification.

Post-Classical Period (235–476 AD)

This was a period of crisis and dominance (unlimited monarchy). Law became more rough, formalism gave way to simplification. Imperial constitutions (edicts) became the main source of law. On this stage, the first official collections of imperial laws were compiled — the Codex Gregorianus (about 291 AD) and the Codex Hermogenianus (about 295 AD).

Justinian Period (527–565 AD)

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great undertook a grand attempt to gather and codify all Roman law. As a result, the famous Corpus Juris Civilis ("Body of Civil Law") appeared, which became a textbook and law for the entire late Roman state. It was this codex that was "discovered" in the Middle Ages in Bologna and laid the foundation for the reception of Roman law in Europe.

The Corpus Juris Civilis included four parts:

• Institutes of Justinian — a textbook of law for beginners (mandatory for students).
• Digests (or Pandects) — the most extensive part; extracts from the writings of classical Roman jurists, divided into 50 books.
• Code of Justinian — a collection of imperial laws-constitutions.
• Novellae — new laws issued by Justinian himself after 534.

2. What Roman Law Gave to the World: Key Concepts

Division of law into public and private (jus publicum et jus privatum)

The Romans first made a clear distinction: public law relates to the position of the Roman state and its institutions, while private law regulates relations between individuals (family, property, contractual). This division has remained in all legal systems to this day.

System of actions (actio)

Roman law was, as lawyers say, a "system of actions": no right, no protection. The famous principle "ubi remedium, ibi jus" (where there is a remedy, there is also law). The emergence of a new life situation required the creation of a new action. Later, this transformed into "contract action" (actio ex stipulatu) and "delict action" (actio ex delicto).

Property rights (dominium)

The Romans developed a complete and absolute right of ownership over a thing — "he who owns, he who uses." From this, rights of possession (possessio), detention (detentio), and servitudes (limited rights on someone else's property, such as the right of passage through a neighboring plot) branched off.

Contract law

The Romans distinguished four types of contracts: verbal (oral, for example, stipulation — an oath), literal (written), real (when the contract took effect at the moment of the transfer of the thing: loan, mortgage, deposit), and consensual (an agreement based on simple consent of the parties: sale, lease, commission).

Legal status of the individual

Roman law meticulously worked out three statuses of a person: status of freedom (ingenui — freeborn, libertini — freedmen, servi — slaves); status of citizenship (cives, latini, peregrini — foreigners) and family status (pater familias — the head of the family, having authority over all household members).

3. Reception of Roman Law in Europe

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Roman law formally ceased to operate. However, it continued to "smolder" in local customs and church canons. The turning point came in the late 11th century in Bologna. Irnerius (the scholar known as the "Luminary of Law") began to read lectures on the Digests of Justinian, laying the foundation for the University of Bologna — the oldest in Europe.

Interest in Roman law was immense because it offered ready-made, rational solutions for new economic realities — trade, usury, bills of exchange, which the feudal fragmentation could not regulate. The reception (reception, borrowing) of Roman law in Europe occurred from the 12th to the 18th century and led to the creation of common continental legal principles.

Direct descendants of the Roman legal tradition became the civil codes of France (Napoleon's Code of 1804), Germany (BGB 1896), Switzerland, Italy, and many other countries. Russian pre-revolutionary law also felt the powerful influence through German pandecticism.

Permanent link to this publication: