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.
This article concerns the period 69 BC – 60 BC.
Year 67 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Glabrio. The denomination 67 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The gens Gabinia was a plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens first appear in the second century BC.
The Social War was a war waged from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities and tribes in Italy, which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries. The war was begun by the Picentes because the Romans did not want to afford them Roman citizenship, thus leaving the Italian groups with fewer rights. The war resulted in a Roman victory. However, Rome granted Roman citizenship to almost all of its Italian allies, to avoid another war.
Lex Antonia was a law established in ancient Rome in April 44 BC. It was proposed by Mark Antony and passed by the Roman Senate, following the assassination of Julius Caesar. It formally abolished the Dictatorship. It was the second law to do so ; however, the earlier law had essentially been nullified by the subsequent Dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar.
The Concilium Plebis was the principal assembly of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative assembly, through which the plebeians (commoners) could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian Council was originally organized on the basis of the Curia. Thus, it was originally a "Plebeian Curiate Assembly". The Plebeian Council usually met in the well of the comitium and could only be convoked by the Tribune of the Plebs. The assembly elected the Tribunes of the Plebs and the plebeian aediles, and only the plebeians were allowed to vote.
The lex Ogulnia was a Roman law passed in 300 BC. It was a milestone in the long struggle between the patricians and plebeians. The law was carried by the brothers Quintus and Gnaeus Ogulnius, tribunes of the plebs in 300 BC. For the first time, it opened the various priesthoods to the plebeians. It also increased the number of pontifices from five to nine, and led to the appointment of Tiberius Coruncanius, the first plebeian pontifex maximus, in 254 BC. The law further required that five of the augurs be plebeians.
The lex Hortensia, also sometimes referred to as the Hortensian law, was a law passed in Ancient Rome in 287 BC which made all resolutions passed by the Plebeian Council, known as plebiscita, binding on all citizens. It was passed by the dictator Quintus Hortensius in a compromise to bring the plebeians back from their secession to the Janiculum.
Gaius Manilius was a Roman tribune of the plebs in 66 BCE.
A Lex Julia is an ancient Roman law that was introduced by any member of the Julian family. Most often, "Julian laws", Lex Iulia or Leges Iuliae refer to moral legislation introduced by Augustus in 23 BC, or to a law from the dictatorship of Julius Caesar.
In ancient Roman law, ambitus was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ambitus is the origin of the English word "ambition," which is another of its original meanings; ambitus was the process of "going around and commending oneself or one's protégés to the people," an activity liable to unethical excesses. In practice, bringing a charge of ambitus against a public figure became a favored tactic for undermining a political opponent.
The lex Manilia was a Roman law passed in 66 BC granting Pompey the military command in the East against Mithridates VI of Pontus.
The Lex Oppia was a law established in ancient Rome in 215 BC, at the height of the Second Punic War during the days of national catastrophe after the Battle of Cannae, and repealed in 195 BC.
The lex Calpurnia was a law sponsored in 149 BC by tribune Lucius Calpurnius Piso. According to this law, a permanent court, presided by a praetor, was to be established to prosecute extortion committed by magistrates and governors. Provincial governors tried to compensate for their preceding service in Rome, which was unpaid, by levying extremely high taxes and extorting the populace. The penalties were probably only pecuniary as a compensation and did not include exile.
The Valerian and Porcian laws were Roman laws passed between 509 BC and 184 BC. They exempted Roman citizens from degrading and shameful forms of punishment, such as whipping, scourging, or crucifixion. They also established certain rights for Roman citizens, including Provocatio, the right to appeal to the tribunes of the plebs. The Valerian law also made it legal to kill any citizen who was plotting to establish a tyranny. This clause was used several times, the most important of which was its usage by Julius Caesar's assassins.
The Tribal Assembly was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (tribus).
The ballot laws of the Roman Republic were four laws which introduced the secret ballot to all popular assemblies in the republic. They were all introduced by tribunes, and consisted of the lex Gabinia tabellaria of 139 BC, applying to the election of magistrates; the lex Cassia tabellaria of 137 BC, applying to juries except in cases of treason; the lex Papiria of 131 BC, applying to the passing of laws; and the lex Caelia of 107 BC, which expanded the lex Cassia to include matters of treason. Prior to the ballot laws, voters announced their votes orally to a teller, essentially making every vote public. The ballot laws curtailed the influence of the aristocratic class and expanded the freedom of choice for voters. Elections became more competitive. Counter-intuitively, the secret ballot also led to an increase in bribery by removing social pressure as a means of obtaining votes.
