Editing Decemviri (section)

==''Decemviri stlitibus judicandis''==

The ''[[decemviri stlitibus judicandis]]'' ("the ten men who judge lawsuits") was a civil court of ancient origin (traditionally attributed to King [[Servius Tullius]]) mainly concerned with questions bearing on the status of individuals. It originally served as a jury rendering verdicts under the presidency of the [[praetor]], but these decemviri subsequently became annual minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') of the Republic, elected by the [[Roman assemblies|Comitia Populi Tributa]] and forming part of the ''[[Vigintisexviri]]'' ("Twenty-Six Men").<ref name="EB1911"/>

[[Lives of the Twelve Caesars|Suetonius]] and [[Dio Cassius]] record that during the [[Roman Empire|Principate]], [[Caesar Augustus]] transferred to the decemviri the presidency in the courts of the ''[[Centumviri]]'' ("Hundred Men"). Under imperial law, the decemvirate had jurisdiction in capital cases.