FORUM. In Roman Law. The paved open space in. cities, particularly in Rome, where were held the solemn business assem blies of the people, the markets, the exchange (whence cedere ford, to retire from 'change, equivalent to "to become bankrupt"), and where the magistrates sat to transact the busi ness of their office. It corresponded to the (quint of the Greeks. Dion. Hal. I. 3, p. 200. It came afterwards to mean any place where causes were tried, locus exereendarum litium. Isidor. 1. 18, Orig. A court of justice.
The obligation and the right of a person to have his case decided by a particular court.
It is often synonymous with that signification of judiefunt which corresponds to our word court (whiob see), in the sense of jurisdiction : e.g. foro in Serdieere, 1. 1, 13, D. 1, 12; C. 9, 4, D. 48, 19; Pori prteseriptio, I. 7, pr. D. 2, 8; I. 1, C. 3, 24; forum rei acetmator sequitur, 1. 5, pr. C. 3, 13. In this sense the forum of a person means both the obligation and the right of that person to have his cause decided by a particular court. 5 Gluck, Pend. 237. What court should have cognizance of the cause depends, hi general, upon the person of the defendant, or upon the person of some one connected with the defendant.
2. Jurisdictions depending upon the person of the defendant. By modern writers upon the Roman law, this sort of jurisdiction is distinguished as that of common right, forum commune, and that of special privilege, forum privilegiatum.
(A.) Forum commune. The jurisdiction of common right was either general, forum generale, or special, forum specials.
(a.) Forum generale. General jurisdiction was of two kinds, the forum originis, which was that of the birthplace of the party, and the forum domicilii, that of his domicile. The forum originis was either commune or proprium. The former was that legal status which all free-born subjects of the empire, wherever residing, had at Rome when they were found there and had not the jus re vocandi domum (i.e. the right of one absent from his domicile of transferring to the forum domicilii a suit instituted against him in the place of his temporary sojourn). L. 2, a 3, 4, 5, D. 5, 1; 1. 28, 4, D. 4, 6; 3 Gluck, Pand. 188. After the privilege of Roman citizen ship was conferred by Caracalla upon all free born subjects of the empire, the city of Rome was considered the common home of all, corn munis omnivm patria, and every citizen, no matter where his domicile, could, unless pro tected by special privilege, be sued at Rome while there present. Noodt, Corn. ad Dig.
5, 1, p. 153; Hofacker, Pr. Jur. Civ. 4221. The forum originis proprium, or forum originis specials, was the court of that place of which at the time of the party's birth his father was a citizen, though that might pos sibly be neither his own birthplace nor the actual domicile of his father. Except in par ticular places, as Delphi and Pontus, where the nativity of the mother conferred the pri vilege of citizenship upon her son, the birth place of the father only was regarded. L. 1, 2, D. 50, 1. The case of the nullius flius was also an exception. Such a person having no known father derived his thrum originis from the birthplace of his mother. L. 9, D. 50, 1.
Adoption might confer a twofold citizen ship, that of the natural and that of the adoptive father, 1. 7, C. 8, 48; but the lat ter was lost by emancipation. L. 16, D. 50, 1. In general, the birthplace of the father alone fixed the forum origizas of the son. Amaya, Corn. ad Tit. Cod. de incolis, n. 21, seq. 99. The forum originis was unchangeable, and continued although the party had esta blished his domicile in another place ! con sequently, he could always be sued in the courts of that jurisdiction whenever he was there present. 6 Gliick, Pand. p. 260.
3. Forym domicilii. The place of the domicile exercised the greatest influence over the rights of the party: (As to what consti tutes domicile, see DOMICILE.) In general, one was subject to the laws and courts of his domicile alone, unless specially privileged. L. 29, D. 50, 1. This legal status, forum domi was universal, in the sense that all suits of whatever nature, real or personal, petitory or possessory, might be instituted in the courts of the defendant's domicile even when the thing in dispute was not situated within the jurisdiction of such court, and the de fendant was not present at such place at the commencement of the suit. 6 Gliick, Pand. 237 et seq. It seems, however, that as regarded real actions the forum domicilii was concur rent with the forum rei slice, id. 29D, and, in general, was concurrent 'with averts/ juris dictions of all kinds ; although in some ex ceptional cases the law. conferred exclusive cognizance upon a special jurisdiction, forum speciale. /n cases of concurrence the plain tiff had his election of the jurisdiction.