CIVIL LAW. This term is generally used to designate the Roman jurisprudence, jus civile Romanorum.
In its most extensive sense, the term Roman Law comprises all those legal rules and principles which were in force among the Romans, without refer ence 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 Jus tinian, 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 leges curzatce are said to have been collected in the time of Tarquin, the last of the kings, by a pontifex maximus of the name of Sextus or Publius Papinius. This collection Is known un der the title of Jut! Civile Papinianum; Its exist ing fragments are few, and those of an apocryphal character. Mackeldey 5 21.
After IL fierce and uninterrupted struggle between the patricians 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 decemvlrs and adopted in the comitia cen Wide, acquired great authority, and constituted the foundatiou of all the public and private laws of the. Romans, subsequently, until the time of Jus tinian, It is called Lex Decemviralis. From this period the sources of the jug scriptum consisted in the leges, the plebiscite, tho senatus consulta, and the constitutions of the emperors, constitutLnes principium; and the jus non scriptum was found partly in the mores majorum, the conauetudo, and the res judioata, or auctoritas reruns perpetua judicatorum. The edicts of the magistrates, or jus honorarium, also formed a part of the un written law ; but by far the most prolific source of the jus non acriptum consisted in the opinions and writings of the lawyers- responsa prudentium.
The few fragments of the twelve tables that have come down to us are stamped with the harsh fea tures of their aristocratic origin. But the jus hono rarium established by the praetors and other magis trates, as well as that part of the customary law which was built up by the opinions and writings of the prudentes, are founded essentially on principles of natural justice.
Many collections 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 head was the ex-qucestor sacri palatii, Johannes, and among them the afterwards well-known Tribonian. 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 all 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 called Codes vetua, has been entirely lost.
After the completion of this code, Justinian, in 630, ordered Tribonian, who was now invested with the dignity of ow:ester sacri palatii, and sixteen other jurists, to select all the most valuable pas sages 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 ex tensive powers; they had the privilege, at their dis cretion, 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 had be come entirely obsolete. The natural consequence of this was, that the extracts did not always truly rep resent the originals, but were often interpolated and amended in conformity with the existing law. Al terations, modifications, and additions of this kind are now usually called emblenzata Triboniani. 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 less 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 sive Pandectce juris enu cleati ex omni vetere jure collecti. The Pandects were published on the 16th of December, 533, but they did not go into operation until the 30th of that month. In confirming the Pandects, Justinian pro hibited further reference to the old jurists ; and, in order to prevent legal science from becoming again so diffuse, indefinite, and uncertain as It had pre viously been, he forbade the writing of commenta ries upon the new compilation, and permitted only the making of literal translations Into Greek.