Roman law

Roman law
Ro·man law n: the legal system of the ancient Romans that includes written and unwritten law, is based on the traditional law and legislation of the assemblies, resolves of the senate, enactments of the emperors, edicts of the praetors, writings of the jurisconsults, and the codes of the later emperors, and that is the basis for much of the modern civil law systems

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

Roman law
n.
A body of law derived from ancient Rome; also used occasionally to refer to the system of civil law.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


Roman law
the law of ancient Rome; also the legal system and science built upon it and adopted in various ways in various places at various times up to the present. The classical period ran from roughly 27 BC to the middle of the third century AD. The first phase of the law then concluded with the codification of all the law by Justinian (AD 527–565) in the Corpus Juris Civilis. The Roman law survived in watered-down form in Constantinople until its fall in 1453. Its real 'second life' began in the West when Justinian's Digest was discovered and used as the heart of a revived study of Irnerius (1050–1130) at the University of Bologna. While England developed its own system, other states looked to Roman law for inspiration. The Napoleonic Code began a process of the adoption of Roman and Romantic legal thought throughout Europe. Often the term civil law or civilian is used for the post-Justinian period. The importance of the Roman tradition lies in the fact that the law was set out in a systematic way – obligations, property and persons being separated yet related. This meant there was less danger of haphazard, incongruous organic development where the reports of decided cases are simply collected.

Collins dictionary of law. . 2001.

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