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CH 5] Business 101 5-7

Note that each system of law plays a role in the formation of the next, and much of
Jewish Law found its way into Roman Law.

Roman or Civil Law System. The Romans have been described as having created
“veritable law factories,” that is the more laws the better, and our U.S. juris is repeating the
Roman approach. As a result, Rome was an important contributor to the law. The Romans
started with the Code of the Twelve Tables prepared by the Decemviri, a committee of ten
men appointed in 451 B.C. to formulate a basic written law. This was largely procedural as
distinguished from substantive law. (Procedural law deals with how to commence and
prosecute actions to enforce legal rights. Substantive law deals with the “legal rights” of
the law; that portion of the law which creates legal relationships and declares the rights,
duties and obligations of parties thereto.)
They continued through their tribunals, courts, and senate to conceive the Corpus Juris
Civilis (the Body of Civil Law), an elaborate and comprehensive set of codes giving
immense detail to the law. Just as today, the civil law came about by legislative process,
such that a proposition is drafted and passed by the people's Assembly and became law
after approval by the Senate. To this extent, it was statutory law — a law coming into
being by the formal enactment of a legislative body.
The internal structure of Roman Civil Law deserves examination, for in it is found the
basic schematic arrangement of every present-day legal system for criminal and civil law. Criminal Law
Criminal Law is that body of law which prescribes those acts which are offenses That body of law which
against society and punishable in order that the security of its citizens are preserved. prescribes those acts which
Roman statutes made homicide (murder), kidnapping, bribery, forgery, and embezzlement are offenses against society
crimes punishable by the state. Cicero, the greatest of the Roman lawyers won his greatest and punishable in order that
the security of its citizens
victories in the criminal courts. He first came to public attention by successfully defending are preserved.
a young man accused of murder in the case of The State v Sextus Roscius. The case was
dangerous because powerful political figures were involved, but Cicero proceeded
fearlessly, climaxing the trial by proving that the murderer was actually the prosecution’s Civil Law 5
chief witness. Embraces all of those
Civil Law embraces all of those fields of law which concern business relationships and fields of law which
concern business
property ownership—areas for every business student. The Romans developed laws relationships and
regarding contracts, agency, sales, property, wills and trusts, and suretyship; also, a well- property ownership.
established banking system replete with mortgaging and other security arrangements. To a
lesser degree, they had a law of commercial paper, corporations, insurance, and suretyship
bankruptcy. Obligation of meeting a
debt.
Civil law also deals with civil wrongs. A civil wrong is where one individual injures
another and the injured party is entitled to damages. Civil wrongs are generally two forms:
breaches of contract and torts. Breach of contract is the breaking of a contract, failing to
perform or falsely performing an obligation. Torts are injuries to the person or property of
another, or the obtention or detention of property of another by wrongful means or obtention : an act or
instance of obtaining.
without right. Torts may be intentional or unintentional, (unintentional is the result of
negligence). detention: a holding in
The Romans had a fully developed tort law. Damages were recoverable for any injury custody.
to the person of another and any trespass or injury to his property. The intentional torts of
fraud, duress, conversion, malicious prosecution, libel, and slander were actionable; and Actionable: giving sufficient
reason to take legal action:
the law of negligence was highly refined.
At the time the Roman Civil Law System was a most complete one, becoming the
main source of law for Western Civilization.
One additional fact should be noted. In writing and codifying the law, the Romans left
very little lawmaking to judges. Judges were to be entirely triers of fact. They were to
decide between litigants based on the facts presented and for the litigant whose facts were Feudalism
The basis for the theory and
the more strongly supported by the evidence presented. Candidates for the bench were system of real property law.
even required to proclaim in advance of their selection the interpretation they would place
on those laws which were susceptible to interpretation. This was a system of written law fee: Income
compared to law which is “made” by court decisions. od: property
feud: derived from fe and
Feudalism. By 471 A.D. the fall of the Roman Empire was complete and what followed od. When combined to form
was the Middle Ages of Western European history. This thousand-year period did not feud, which then means
eliminate Roman law but continued it and developed the Feudal System which gave rise to “the right to receive income
from the property.”
the theory and system of real property law adopted in England and which we use today.

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