Civil Procedure in Classical Rome: Having an audience with the magistrate

Metzger, E. (2010) Civil Procedure in Classical Rome: Having an audience with the magistrate. In: de Angelis, F. and Harris, W. (eds.) Spaces of Justice in the Roman World. Series: Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition (35). Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 27-41. ISBN 9789004189256

Abstract

During the classical period of Roman law, civil lawsuits were divided into two proceedings: a brief proceeding before the magistrate, who decided certain preliminary matters, and a longer proceeding before a judge, who tried the case. The first proceeding is said to take place "in iure," which roughly means "in the magistrate’s court." Unfortunately the figure "in court" has been understood too strictly to refer to the whole of the first phase, and this has given rise to the misunderstanding that the whole of the first phase took place in the magistrate’s presence. The better view is that the first phase took place both in, and around, the magistrate’s tribunal. This paper discusses several institutions of Roman civil procedure where the better view is evident. The paper concludes with a discussion of a first-century settle agreement from Puteoli; the settlement agreement illustrates the better view.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Additional Information: Paper presented at Spaces of Justice in the Roman World Conference, New York, 16-17 Nov 2007
• Keywords: Roman civil procedure, Puteoli, Roman law
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Metzger, Professor Ernest
• Authors: Metzger, E.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DE The Mediterranean Region. The Greco-Roman World; K Law > K Law (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Publisher: Brill
• ISBN: 9789004189256
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 Brill
• First Published: First published in Spaces of Justice in the Roman World (2010) Brill
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.