Calumnia (Roman law)

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In Roman law during the Republic, calumnia was the willful bringing of a false accusation, that is, malicious prosecution. [1] The English word "calumny" derives from the Latin.

Roman law Legal system of ancient Rome and later the Roman Empire

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables, to the Corpus Juris Civilis ordered by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. Roman law forms the basic framework for civil law, the most widely used legal system today, and the terms are sometimes used synonymously. The historical importance of Roman law is reflected by the continued use of Latin legal terminology in many legal systems influenced by it, including common law.

Roman Republic Period of ancient Roman civilization (509–27 BC)

The Roman Republic was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

False accusations can be in any of the following contexts:

The Roman legal system lacked state prosecutors; crimes were prosecuted by any individual with sufficient legal training who chose to make the case. Prosecutions were often politically motivated, but a prosecutor who brought an accusation wrongfully could be sued under the Lex Remmia de calumnia if the accused was absolved of the crime. In this sense, calumnia resembled a charge of defamation or libel. [2] The person found guilty of calumnia was subject to the same punishment the person he falsely accused would have received. [3]

Prosecutor supreme representative of the prosecution (of the state)

A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the government in the case brought against the accused person.

Defamation, calumny, vilification, or traducement is the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of, depending on the law of the country, an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation.

One particularly well-documented trial that resulted in calumnia was that of M. Aemilius Scaurus, the praetor of 56 BC, who spoke in his own defense. Cicero was among his team of six advocates. Scaurus was charged under the Lex Iulia de repetundis for alleged misconduct during his governorship of Sardinia in 55 BC. A lengthy list of character witnesses is preserved. He was acquitted, with only four of twenty-two senators voting to convict, two of twenty-three equites , and two of twenty-five tribuni aerarii ("tribunes of the treasury"). Ten of these jurors voted that two of the prosecutors, Marcus Pacuvius Claudius [4] and his brother Quintus, had committed calumnia, and three voted that a third prosecutor, Lucius Marius, [5] had also done so. [6] Although the presiding praetor allowed charges of calumnia to proceed, all three were acquitted, even though the jury seems to have been the same. [7]

Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC and son of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Caecilia Metella Dalmatica.

Praetor official of the Roman Republic

Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army ; or, an elected magistratus (magistrate), assigned various duties. The functions of the magistracy, the praetura (praetorship), are described by the adjective: the praetoria potestas, the praetorium imperium, and the praetorium ius, the legal precedents established by the praetores (praetors). Praetorium, as a substantive, denoted the location from which the praetor exercised his authority, either the headquarters of his castra, the courthouse (tribunal) of his judiciary, or the city hall of his provincial governorship.

Cicero 1st-century BC Roman philosopher and statesman

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher, who served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

Another case involving calumnia is mentioned by Cicero in his first speech against Verres. [8]

Gaius Verres was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advocate could only recommend that Verres should leave the country. Cicero's prosecution speeches were later published as the Verrine Orations.

During the time of Sulla, Afrania, [9] a senator's wife, appeared so often before the praetor that muliebris calumnia ("woman's calumny") became regarded as pernicious to the legal system. An edict was consequently enacted that prohibited women from bringing claims on behalf of others, though they continued to be active in the courts in other ways. [10]

Sulla Ancient Roman general, consul and dictator

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as reviving the dictatorship. Sulla was a skillful general, achieving numerous successes in wars against different opponents, both foreign and Roman. He was awarded a grass crown, the most prestigious Roman military honor, during the Social War.

GaiaAfrania was the wife of the senator Licinius Buccio. Afrania was born into an old plebeian family, the gens Afrania. She lived during the chaotic time of the breakup of the Republic, dying in 48 BC. She often brought suits to court. Perhaps the sister of Lucius Afranius, consul in 60, she always pleaded her own cases before the praetor instead of waiting for male family members to defend her, thus giving occasion to the publishing of the edict which forbade all women to postulate. Valerius Maximus's narrative indicates that she was successfully able to argue her cases, although he looked upon it negatively. Ulpian condemns Afrania as the cause for the edict, stating that it was meant to prevent women's involvement in the legal business of others. He believed that it was too immodest for women and that it was a duty for males.

During the Imperial era, a charge of calumnia could also result from an ill-considered accusation, even if made without malice. [11]

Roman Empire period of Imperial Rome following the Roman Republic (27 BC–395 AD)

The Roman Empire was the post-Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization. An Iron Age civilization, it had a government headed by emperors and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. From the constitutional reforms of Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, the Empire was a principate ruled from the city of Rome. The Roman Empire was then divided between a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople, and it was ruled by multiple emperors.

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References

  1. ↑ Mary Beard, J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, Religions of Rome: A History (Cambridge University Press, 1998), vol. 1, p. 238.
  2. ↑ Cicero, Rosc. Am. 19.55; Richard A. Lafleur, "Horace and onomasti komodein : The Law of Satire," Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II.31.3 (1981), p. 1822; H. Galsterer, "The Administration of Justice," in The Cambridge Ancient History: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.–A.D. 69 (Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 402.
  3. ↑ George Mousourakis, The Historical and Institutional Context of Roman Law (Ashgate, 2003), p. 317; Beard et al., Religions of Rome, p. 238.
  4. ↑ The cognomen is uncertain, and may be Caldus.
  5. ↑ A quaestor in 50 BC.
  6. ↑ Michael C. Alexander, Trials in the Late Roman Republic, 149 BC to 50 BC (University of Toronto Press, 1990), pp. 143–144.
  7. ↑ T. Corey Brennan, The Praetorship in the Roman Republic (Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 497.
  8. ↑ Cicero, In Verrem 1.6.
  9. ↑ The name is vexed; it may also be Carfrania.
  10. ↑ Richard A. Bauman, Women and Politics in Ancient Rome (Routledge, 1992, 1994), pp. 50–51. See also Women and the law in ancient Rome.
  11. ↑ Mousourakis, The Historical and Institutional Context of Roman Law, p. 317.
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