The Influence of Ancient Roman Law on Modern Western Civilizations

Western civilization, predominantly comprising of Western Europe and North America, is thought to have been originated through the influence of two major ancient cultures – Greek and Roman. The influence on the western world that came from Greece came forth mainly from the golden age (500 – 300 Before Christ), in which Greek philosophy, architecture, literature and expressions of art came to great flourishment and laid the foundation for our own civilization today. On the other hand, the Roman influence on the western world came from their prodigious Empire and their statecraft. Ancient Roman law formed the law code used in many modern western legal systems and is arguably one of the greatest Roman contributions to the western civilization to this day. This paper is a concise summary on the evolution, impact and influence of ancient Roman law in shaping the civilization of Western Europe and North America of this present day – done by writing a clear and concise synopsis of the contributions of each separate period of time. In closing, a conclusion will be drawn and the paper will be summarized.

The majority of what is known regarding ancient Roman law comes from an assortment of legal matter and jurisprudence made in between 500 Anno Domini and 600 Anno Domini on the injunction of Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I, more commonly known as Justinian the Great. The contents of this assortment were the output of more than one thousand years of legal advancement, shaped into one collection of matter called the corpus juris civilis, or codex Justinianus. From roughly 500 Before Christ to 600 Anno Domini, Rome developed from a small independent state to one of the most extensive political and social structures in the entire western civilization. Politically, the first change in government was the change from a monarchy (in which the Etruscan kings had ruled over the Romans for many years) to a republic in 509 Before Christ, when the Romans overthrew their government. 

When Augustus Caesar proclaimed himself the first emperor of Rome in 27 Before Christ, Rome went through the second political change from a republic to an empire. During this entire millennium of change, the Roman law was easily adapted with slight altercations to survive the changing social situation, whilst in essence maintaining the same ideas that had been part of being Roman for many years. During the expansion of the republic of Rome that lead to eventually controlling the entire Mediterranean sea, law in Rome changed significantly. The people of Rome decided that laws should apply to everyone equally, regardless of whether you belonged to the patricians (the wealthy upper class) or the plebeians (everyone else). According to Stein (1999), agitation among the plebeians had arisen due to the lack of written law, which meant that the patricians could do with the plebeians as they themselves chose fit. This was deemed unfair by the masses, and it led to the appointment of the decemvirs, a group of ten men which were tasked with the creation of written Roman law in 451 Before Christ. This brought forth the very foundation of the Roman law, the Law of the Twelve Tables – which was a set of laws engraved on twelve slabs of bronze in ancient Rome in 451 and 450 Before Christ, displayed in the Forum of a municipium or community (the Forum being a public square in a Roman municipium, reserved primarily for the vending of goods). Although still not entirely in favor of the plebeians, the fact that there was written law meant that they now knew their rights and what they had to adhere to. 

Over time, Roman judges and adjudicators became more aware of the true principles of justice through the wisdom of the stoic philosophers, after which judgment started being formed on common sense and practicality. With this, laws such as one being innocent until proven guilty – with the burden of proving guilt being upon the accuser rather than the accused, one is only to be prosecuted for deeds and not merely thoughts, and the ius naturale (Latin for the natural right, the laws common to all beings) along with the ius civile (the laws of Romans specifically) were created and recorded. Throughout the years, ancient Rome had a senate remarkably similar to the one used in present day, with the legislative branch in some countries comprising of an upper class (the Senate) and a lower class (the House of Representatives). When Rome was still a monarchy, the senate was weak in power, serving simply as advisors to the monarch. When Rome changed into a republic, the senate struggled to maintain even a shred of power over the executive magistrates – the highest ranking government officers who possessed both judicial and executive powers. During the early to middle republic, the senate gradually became more powerful until reaching a peak – asserting themselves over the executive magistrates.

Towards the end of the republic, senate power declined once more until eventually becoming politically irrelevant in the empire days.