The legend of its design says that in 462 BC. A.D., a bourgeois tribune proposed the appointment of a commission to draft these laws, but without success. Later, in 455 BC. The Senate decided to write a series of laws corresponding to both social groups and appointed a commission to collect a number of model laws in Greece for this purpose. The laws dealing with the Twelve Tables were a way of publicly showing the rights that every citizen had in the public and private spheres. These twelve tablets showed what was once considered in Roman society as unwritten laws. The public display of the copper tablets allowed for a more balanced society between the Roman patricians, who were educated and understood the laws of legal relations, and the Roman plebeians, who had little education or experience in understanding the law. By revealing to the public the unwritten rules of society, the Twelve Tablets offered the plebeians the opportunity to avoid financial exploitation and rebalance the Roman economy. The new Roman Republic wanted to ensure that every citizen knew the laws. So they carved the laws on metal shelves and placed them in the Forum in Rome for everyone to read. These laws were called the Twelve Tablets because there were twelve different sections.
These laws dealt with criminality and property and family issues such as marriage and inheritance. Laws, like all laws, have been adapted over time. But the most important laws, whatever they were, were posted on the Forum throughout the period when Rome was a republic. In the latter part of the Roman Republic, before Rome became an empire, one of the reasons some rulers in Rome were so angry with Julius Caesar was that Caesar simply ignored the law. He didn`t try to buy his way, make his way, or free himself from trouble. He simply behaved as if the laws did not apply to him. Therefore, the rulers of Rome were shocked by his behavior and decided to assassinate him. They didn`t want their laws to lose their meaning. They certainly didn`t want a leader who believed himself to be above the law.
Rome was very proud of its laws and proud that the laws applied equally to all Roman citizens, whether they were the richest, poorest or most powerful of all the inhabitants of Rome. The law was the law. The Twelve Tables of the Roman Society were described by the Romans as the result of the long social struggle between patricians and plebeians. After the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, in 509 BC. The republic was governed by a hierarchy of magistrates. Initially, only patricians had the right to become judges, which, among other plebeian complaints, was a source of discontent for the plebeians. In the context of this unequal status, the plebeians would take steps to obtain concessions with the threat of secession. They threatened to leave the city, with the result that it would stop, for the plebeians were the workers of Rome. Tradition has it that one of the most important concessions obtained in this class struggle was the establishment of the Twelve Tablets, which established fundamental procedural rights for all Roman citizens in relation to each other. [6] The elaboration of the Twelve Tables may have been fuelled by the patricians` desire for self-regulation or for other reasons. [2] Many of the laws created by senators under the new government were not new laws. But the laws were clearly written and applied equally to all citizens.
New laws have been added. A new law stated that you were innocent until you were guilty of a crime. Another law stipulated that every citizen had the right to challenge his accusers in court. The law gave judges the power to strike down unjust laws. The Twelve Tables are so complete that their contents have been described as “code”,[4] although modern scholars consider this characterization to be exaggerated. [2] The tables were a sequence of definitions of various private rights and procedures. They usually took for granted things like family institutions and various rituals for formal transactions. The provisions were often very specific and varied. [5] Table II shows the amount of each party`s financial commitment depending on the source of the dispute, what to do in case of interference with the judge and who must provide evidence. [14] The Twelve Tablets (also known as the Law of the Twelve Tablets) were a series of laws inscribed on 12 bronze tablets written in 451 and 450 BC.
Created in ancient Rome. They marked the beginning of a new approach to the laws that were now passed and written by the government so that all citizens before them could be treated equally. According to tradition, in 451 BC. AD, it has been renovated. a committee, the Decemviri, commissioned, under pressure from public opinion, to draw up a code of law that would better represent the interests of ordinary people (plebeians) and reduce the undue influence of aristocrats (patricians) and priests (pontificates) on Roman law. They had sat exclusively on a board that had interpreted the law as they saw fit. In preparation for this task, a delegation of three men was sent to Athens, where they studied the laws of the famous legislator Solon (ca. 640 – ca.
560 BC). Then ten men, all patricians, were given consular powers (imperium) and were allowed to draw up a list of the laws they considered most necessary and useful. In 449 BC. The second decemirate completed the last two codes, and after a secessio plebis (secession of the plebs, plebeian protest) to force the Senate to consider them, the law of the twelve tablets was officially promulgated. [11] According to Livy (AUC 3.57.10), the Twelve Tablets were written on bronze (Pomponius (Dig. 1 tit. 2 s2 §4) only said in ivory) and placed publicly so that all Romans could read and know them. Duodecim Tabularum. Tradition tells us that the codex was written by a commission of ten and then twelve men in 451-450 BC. A.D., ratified by the Assembly of the Centuriates in 449 BC. AD, engraved on twelve tablets (hence the title) attached to the Rostra in front of the Curia in the Forum of Rome. (3) If the debtor does not repay the debt or if someone offers security to the debtor in court, the creditor shall take the debtor with him.
He ties it either with a thong or with chains weighing at least fifteen pounds, or if he wants, he ties it with chains of more than this weight. 11. Items Sold. and delivered are not purchased by the buyer unless he pays the price to the seller or satisfies the seller by other means, such as the provision of a guarantee or pledge. The Twelve Tablets are often cited as the basis of ancient Roman law. The twelve tables provided a quick understanding of key concepts such as justice, equality and punishment. [17] Although legal reform took place shortly after the introduction of the Twelve Tablets, these ancient laws provided social protection and civil rights for patricians and plebeians. At that time, there were extreme tensions between the privileged class and ordinary people, leading to the need for some form of social order.
While existing laws were in dire need of reform, the Twelve Tables eased civil tensions and violence between plebeians and patricians. [18] The ancient Roman Republic only allowed Roman citizens to vote for rulers, who then created their laws. In ancient Rome, only adult free men could be citizens.