CIVIL LAW. This term is generally used to designate the Roman jurisprudence, jus civile Romanorum.
2. In its most extensive sense, the term Roman Law comprises all those legal rules and principles which were in force among the Romans, without reference to the time when they were adopted. But in a more restricted sense we understand by it the law compiled under the auspices of the Emperor Justinian, and which are still in force in many of the states of modern Europe, and to which all refer as authority or written reason.
The ancient tepee cut-iota are said to have been collected in the time of Tarquin, the last of the kings, by a penal/ex maximize of the name of Seville or Publitts Papirius. This collection is known under the title of As Odle Papirianum ; its exist ing fragments are few, and those of an apocryphal character. Mackeldy, 0 21.
After a fierce and uninterrupted struggle between the patrician's and plebeians, the latter extorted from the former the celebrated law of the Twelve Tables, in the year 300 of Rome. This law, framed by the deoemvirs end adopted in the comitia cen turiata, acquired great authority, and constituted the foundation of all the public and private law of the Romans, subsequently, until the time of Jus tinian. It is called Lex Decemvirttlio. Id. From this period the sources of the jus ecriptum con sisted in the lege*, theplebienitu, the eenatveconsulta, and the constitutions of the emperors, constitutiones principm ; and the jue non scriptutn was found partly in the mores majorum, the coneuetudo, and the res judicala, or a netoritem rerun perpetna simi liter judicatortant. The edicts of the magistrates, or jue honorarium, also formed a part of the un written law; bat by far the most prolific source of the jus item ecriptum tonaisted in the opinions and writings of the lawyers,—responao prudentium.
3. The few fragments of the twelve tablea that have come down to us are stamped with the harsh features of their aristocratic origin. But the jug honorarium established by the praetors and other magistrates, as well as that part of the customary law which was built up by the opinions and writ ings of the prudeutes, are founded essentially on principles of natural justice.
Many oollections of the imperial constitutions had been made before the advent of Justinian to the throne. He was the first after Theodosius who
ordered a new compilation to be made. For this purpose he appointed a committee of ten lawyers, with very extensive powers; at their bead wee the ex , qutestor sacri palatii, Johannes, and among them the afterwards well-known Tribonien. His instruc tions were to select, in the most laconic form, all that was still of value in the existing collections, as well as in the later constitutions; to omit al obsolete matter; to introduce such alterations as were required by the times; and to divide the whole into appropriate titles. Within fourteen months the committee had finished their labors. Justinian confirmed this new code, which consisted of twelve books, by a special ordinance, and pro hibited the use of the older collections of rescripts and edicts. This Code of Justinian, which is now nailed Codex vetus, has been entirely lost.
4. After the completion of this cone, Justinian ordered Tribonian, in 530, who was WOW invested with the dignity of guirstor eacri and six teen other jurists, to select all the most valuable passages from the writings of the old jurists which were regarded as authoritative, and to arrange them, according to their subjects, under suitable heads. These commissioners also enjoyed very extensive powers: they had the privilege, at their discretion, to abbreviate, to add, and to make such other alterations as they might consider adapted to the times; and they were especially ordered to re move all the contradictions of the old jurists, to avoid all repetitions, and to omit all that bad be come entirely obsolete. The natural consequence of this was, that the extracts did not always truly represent the originals, but were often interpolated and amended in conformity with the existing law. Alterations, modifications, end additions of this kind are now usually called emblemata Trihonioni. This great work is called the Pandects, or Digest, and was completed by the commissioners in three years. Within that short space of time, they had extracted from the writings of no leas than thirty nine jurists all that they considered valuable for the purpose of this compilation. It was divided into fifty books, and was entitled Digesta sire Pan deals juris enucleati ex omni vetere jure colleen.