Editing Roman law (section)

== Development ==
The jurist [[Sextus Pomponius]] said, "At the beginning of our city, the people began their first activities without any fixed law, and without any fixed rights: all things were ruled despotically, by kings".<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Roman Law}}</ref> 

Before the [[Twelve Tables]] (i.e between 754 and 449 BC), private law comprised the Roman civil law (''ius civile Quiritium'') that applied only to Roman citizens and was bonded to religion. The ''ius civile'' of the time was undeveloped, with attributes of strict formalism, symbolism, and conservatism, for example, as embodied in the ritual practice of ''[[mancipatio]]''. It is believed that Roman law is rooted in the [[Etruscan religion]], emphasizing ritual.<ref>Jenő Szmodis: [http://www.jogiforum.hu/publikaciok/231 ''The Reality of the Law – From the Etruscan Religion to the Postmodern Theories of Law'']; Ed. Kairosz, Budapest, 2005.</ref>

===Twelve Tables ===
{{Main|Twelve Tables}}
The first legal text of the Roman law is the [[Twelve Tables|Law of the Twelve Tables]], dating from the mid-fifth century BC. The [[plebeian]] [[tribune]], C. Terentilius Arsa, proposed that the law should be written in order to prevent magistrates from applying the law arbitrarily.<ref name=tellegen>"A Short History of Roman Law", Olga Tellegen-Couperus pp. 19–20.</ref> After eight years of political struggle, the plebeian social class convinced the [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]] to send a delegation to [[Athens]] to copy the [[Solonian Constitution|Laws of Solon]]; they also dispatched delegations to other Greek cities for a like reason.<ref name=tellegen /> 

In 451 BC, according to the traditional story, according to [[Livy]], ten Roman citizens were chosen to record the laws, known as the ''[[decemviri]] legibus scribundis''. While they were performing this task, they were given supreme political power (''[[imperium]]''), whereas the power of the magistrates was restricted.<ref name="tellegen" /> In 450 BC, the ''decemviri'' produced the laws on ten tablets (''tabulae''), but these laws were regarded as unsatisfactory by the plebeians. A second decemvirate is allegedly said to have added two further tablets in 449 BC. The new Law of the Twelve Tables was approved by the people's assembly.<ref name="tellegen" />

Modern scholars tend to challenge the accuracy of [[Roman historiography|Latin historians]]. They generally do not believe that a second decemvirate ever took place. The decemvirate of 451 BC is believed to have assumed the leading functions in Rome and included the most controversial points of customary law.<ref name="tellegen" /> Questions concerning Greek influence on early Roman Law are still much discussed. Many scholars consider it unlikely that the patricians sent an official delegation to Greece, as the Latin historians believed. Rather, the Romans acquired Greek legislations from the Greek cities of [[Magna Graecia]], the main portal between the Roman and Greek worlds.<ref name="tellegen" /> 

The original text of the Twelve Tables has not been preserved. The tablets were probably destroyed when Rome was conquered and burned by the [[Gauls]] in 387 BC.<ref name="tellegen" /> The fragments which did survive show that it was not a law code in the modern sense. It did not provide a complete and coherent system of all applicable rules or give legal solutions for all possible cases. Rather, the tables contained specific provisions designed to change the then-existing [[customary law]]. Although the provisions pertain to all areas of law, the largest part is dedicated to [[private law]] and [[civil procedure]].{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

===Early republican law===
{{Main|Lex Canuleia|Lex Hortensia|Lex Aquilia}}
Among the most consequential laws passed during the early [[Roman Republic|Republic]] were the ''[[Lex Canuleia]]'' (445 BC), which allowed marriage ''([[Marriage in ancient Rome|conubium]])'' between [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]] and [[plebeian]]s; the ''[[Lex Licinia Sextia|Leges Liciinae Sextiae]]'' (367 BC), which restricted the amount of public land ''([[ager publicus]])'' that any citizen could occupy, and stipulated that one of the two annual consuls must be plebeian;<ref>''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', Third Edition. Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Oxford University Press, 1996. Entry: ''Licinius Stolo, Gaius''</ref> the ''[[Lex Ogulnia]]'' (300 BC), which permitted plebeians to hold certain priestly offices as [[College of Pontiffs|pontiffs]] or [[Augur|augurs]]; and the ''[[Lex Hortensia]]'' (287 BC), which stated that the determinations of plebeian assemblies ''(plebiscita)'' would henceforth be binding on the entire ''populus Romanus'', both patricians and plebeians.<ref>''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', Third Edition. Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Oxford University Press, 1996. Entry: ''Lex''</ref>

Another important statute from the Republican era is the ''[[Lex Aquilia]]'' of 286 BC, which may be regarded as the root of modern [[tort law]].{{Cn|date=January 2025}}