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- Through a senatorial decree Octavianus becomes the first Roman Emperor and by this, marks an end of the Roman Republic.
- He is called princeps, which is latin for "first citizen".
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Emperor is first citizen (Princeps) and only person with real power.
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- The Emperor Caracalla (rule 198 to 217 AD) grants within the Constitutio Antoniniana the Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire (except of dediticii).
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- The Dominate (AD 284 – 641) begins under the Emperor Diocletian as a result of Crisis of the Third Century.
- Former legal institutions are weakened and a concentration of power towards the Emperor takes place.
- The Emperor is Dominus et Deus - he controlls every field, the judiciary, legislative and executive.
- With this, the post classical period of law begins.
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Emperor is Dominus et deus
- Law = imperial enactments (constitutons)
- General laws = orationes et senatum and edicta
- Special laws = Decreta (judicial), Mandata (instructions to officials), Rescripta (advices as responds to letters of both officials and private persons), Adnotatio (special rescripto)
- Pragmatica = for exceptional situations
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- The codices are private compilations of Imperial Constitutions by jurists during rule of First tetrarchy (Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, caesares Constantius and Galerius).
- Gregorius and Hermogenianus were magister libellorum (drafter of responses to petitions) to Diocletian.
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- The Codex is a compilation of laws of the Roman Empire since 312.
- Later this codex was used as a source for the Breviary of Alaric.
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- The last Emperor Romulus Augustus is forced to resign by Germanic king Odoaker.
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- It is a codification of Vulgar Roman law and Germanic customary law by Euric, King of the Visigoths.
- He was the first Visigoth King to publish general laws. He reduced laws preserved by oral tradition into writing.
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- Dignitates Distinctae – Pope is more dignified then emperor.
- Gelasius distinguishes between "two powers" – the "sacred authority of the bishops" (auctoritas sacrata pontificum) and the "royal power" (regalis potestas). These two powers, auctoritas granting justification to potestas and potestas providing executive power for auctoritas, should be independent in their own spheres of operation, yet also work together in harmony.
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- Jurists did not exist until the 12th century.
- Mostly because many problems were present at that time, illiteracy was the rule, people did not get older that forty, and in general the survival was more important.
- Per pugnam sine iustitia - conflicts were solved by violence, not by justice.
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- Codification of Roman law by Alaric II., King of Visigoths, which is approved by assembly of Bishops on 506 AD.
- It entails Roman Law: Leges (Imperial constitutions) and iura (replies by classical jurists).
- Also there is the Commonitorium, a warning to judges, that only the content of the Breviary can be used in trials under penalty of death
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- Codification of law by Justinian I, with the aim to restate the whole Roman law in one complete source of law.
- It consists of Digest, Code and Institutes.
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- The Codex revisus is an update of the Code of Euric.
- However, the text did not survive. Some laws appeared in Liber Iudiciorum, marked as antique.
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- The code was published by the Visigoth King Recceswinth and entails many laws promulgated by several Visigoth Kings.
- First time independent from Roman law (leges barbarorum) and all subjects to it became hispani.
- Only this law could be used in trials and it remained in force in Spain until the Early Middle Ages.
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- 27 statements of authority claimed by the Pope Gregory VII.
- It results out of the investiture conflict with the Emperor Henry IV.
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Frederick I. Barbarossa grants Authentica habita to the University of Bologna making it the oldest university in the world. -
- Justinian’s compilation is forgotten and needs to be recovered from pieces.
- It can be used to solve legal problems – it is RATIO SCRIPTA.
- Glosators appears for the first time.
- Here appears new material of feudal law - (Libri Feudorum) – norms promulgated in Middle Ages, which Irnerius found out to be also important.