Editing Roman law (section)

=== Concept of laws ===
The 2nd-century Roman [[jurist]] [[Ulpian]], however, divided law into three branches: natural law, which existed in nature and governed animals as well as humans; the law of nations, which was distinctively human; and, civil law, which was the body of laws specific to a people.<ref>''Digest'' 1.1.1.4; Tierney, ''The Idea of Natural Rights'', p. 136.</ref>

''[[Civil law (legal system)|Ius civile]]'' ("citizen law", originally ius civile Quiritium) was the body of common laws that applied to Roman citizens and the [[Praetor#Praetor urbanus|''Praetores Urbani'']], the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens. ''[[Ius gentium]]'' ("law of peoples") was the body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings with Roman citizens. The [[Praetor#Praetor peregrinus|''Praetores Peregrini'']] were the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens and foreigners. ''[[Ius naturale]]'' ("natural law") was the concept that all persons had a kind of common sense, which the jurists developed to explain why all people seemed to obey some laws.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

''[[Ius scriptum]]'' ("written law") was the body of statute laws made by the legislature, known as ''leges'' ({{lit|laws}}) and ''plebiscita'' ({{lit|plebiscites}}, originating in the [[Plebeian Council]]). Roman lawyers would also include in the ''ius scriptum'' the edicts of magistrates (''magistratuum edicta''), the advice of the Senate ({{lang|la|Senatus consulta}}), the responses and thoughts of jurists (''[[responsa]] prudentium''), and the proclamations and beliefs of the emperor (''principum placita''). ''[[Ius non scriptum]]'' ("unwritten law") was the body of common laws that arose from customary practice and had become binding over time.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}

''[[Ius singulare]]'' ("singular law") was the special law for certain groups of people, things, or legal relations, as exceptional from the general rules of the legal system. For example, the ius singulare about wills written by people in the military during a campaign exempted them from the solemnities generally required for citizens when writing wills in normal circumstances. {{lang|la|[[Ius commune]]}} ("common law") was the general, ordinary, law, as distinct from ''ius singulare''.{{Cn|date=January 2025}} 

''[[Ius publicum]]'' ("public law") was the law that protected the interests of the Roman state. Roman criminal law was mostly private, with only the most severe crimes prosecuted by the state. ''Ius publicum'' was also used to describe obligatory legal regulations (today called ''[[Peremptory norm|ius cogens]]''). ''[[Ius privatum]]'' ("private law") was the law that protected individuals, which included personal, property, civil and criminal law as well as the procedural law of judicial proceedings (''iudicium privatum'').{{Cn|date=January 2025}}