Roman Law Evolution: Jurisprudence and Imperial Rule

Classical Jurisprudence

Classical Jurisprudence: The law was considered a democratic theory, suggesting all citizens could become lawyers. In practice, however, it retained an aristocratic character because its components were part of the nobilitas. It enjoyed great moral prestige, deriving its auctoritas from ancient priests and ratified by the emperor through Ius respondendi publice. Simultaneously, this jurisprudence focused on solving specific cases as they arose, making it hardly theoretical. It prioritized the merits and the true intent of the parties over mere formality. Significant legal literature emerged through the training of law schools. Among the most important stages of this period, we can name: the Augustan, the Antonine, and the Severan.

The Later Roman Empire

The Principate continued under a series of emperors who usually belonged to two major houses: the Flavian and the Antonine. The most significant exponents of this era were the emperors Diocletian and Constantine.

Diocletian (284–305 AD)

Elected emperor due to his military prestige, Diocletian is highlighted in the political arena for the organizational restructuring of the state. He divided the empire into two parts—the Eastern and the Western—establishing a Tetrarquía. This system involved two senior emperors (Augusti), one for each part of the Empire, in addition to two deputies titled Caesares. This model functioned perfectly until the death of his mentor, after which a civil war ensued.

This emperor initiated absolute rule in the strict sense, based on the Oriental concept of the near-religious exaltation of his person. Key changes included:

• The senatus was severely limited.
• The army was reorganized.
• A highly stratified social model, influenced by the East, was created with ostentatious titles.
• Economically, the plight of inflation was addressed by attempting to unify the metropolis through the institution of the vicariate.
• In religion, Christianity was openly persecuted, viewed as a real threat to the empire and the emperor's absolute power.

Constantine (306–337 AD)

As Diocletian's successor, Constantine restored unified rule, governed by a single head equipped with maximum power. In 330 AD, he founded Constantinople, establishing a second imperial capital that became a focus of Roman rather than Greek culture. Religious peace was achieved after he admitted Christianity and legislated in favor of Christians.

In the legal field, the emperor became the sole source of law, expressed in his imperial constitutions, now termed leges. This absoluteness is summarized in the following clarifying formulas:

Legal Maxims

"What pleases the prince has the force of law" and "the prince is detached from the law." These statements encapsulate the belief that the emperor was the only true legislator, deriving his authority from the gods and being unbound by existing law.