Codification Of Roman Law Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Codification Of Roman Law?

Codification of Roman law is the process by which the laws of Ancient Rome were codified into an organized legal system. This process began as early as the 4th century BC when a body of written laws, many of which had been in place for centuries, were compiled and organized into a coherent system. By the end of the 2nd century AD, Roman law was codified and standardized across much of Europe.The most important aspect of this process was the creation of a unified legal code from disparate sources. The oldest surviving example is Justinian’s Codex Iustinianus, which dates to 534 AD. It consists largely of legislation issued by various emperors over several centuries and is one source for what we now call civil law or continental European law. Other major sources include Papinian’s Digest, Gaius’ Institutes, Paul’s Sentences, Ulpian’s Rules, and Modestinus’ Decrees. All these texts were collected together by Justinian I in his famous Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law).The importance of this compilation can hardly be underestimated; it laid out clearly-defined rules that governed all aspects of Roman life from public administration to personal relationships and religious practices. Furthermore, its influence was not limited to Rome itself; its principles would go on to shape Western legal systems for centuries afterwards – indeed up until today. Codification provided Romans with a basic framework that could be used throughout their empire without having to rely on local customs or interpretations every time new legislation was needed or old laws needed clarification or updating. This allowed them to govern more effectively while also establishing uniformity in areas such as trade agreements between cities or provinces within their borders where different dialects might otherwise have created confusion regarding key terms and definitions.