Philo Report

Roman Concept of LawGreek Concept of LawCiceroGaius

Topics to be discussed:

Much of the Roman culture was borrowed from the Greeks

As Rudolf Stammler (a German jurist) would put it, “The Romans simply repeated in the Latin language the expression of the Greek philosophers especially the ideas of the Stoics”.

THE ROMAN CONCEPT OF LAW

GREEK CONCEPT OF LAW

Philosophical speculation

Original ideas

Product of technical analysis

Product of colonization and interaction between races

ROMAN CONCEPT OF LAW

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

Sometimes referred to as “Tully” Born on January 3, 106 BC in Arpinum (Arpino,

Italy)Murdered on December 7, 43 BCHe studied law, philosophy and public speakingHailed as the greatest orator of Ancient RomePostulated that law must be based on the

principle of utility

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

chose a career in the law.proved to be an excellent orator and

lawyer, and a shrewd politician.elected to each of the principle Roman

offices became consul .

Cicero’s Life

Augustine later adopted Cicero’s definition of a commonwealth and used it in his argument that Christianity was not responsible for the destruction of Rome by the barbarians.

Cicero’s Influence

Introduced compulsion as an element of the law“Law is the natural force that effectively that effectively controls society and its natural function is to summon the people to obey it by means of commands and avert wrongdoing by means of prohibitions.”

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106-43 BC)

Defined justice as “the sentiment which maintains good human relations by means of fairness and equity”.

Opposed to the concept of prudence by using a made up character, Philus.

LEX CAELESTIS(heavenly law)

opinion of the wisest man that law is not a product of human thought not any enactment of the peoples, but something eternal which rules the whole universe by its wisdom in command and prohibition.

law is the distinction between things just and unjust, made in agreement with that primal and most ancient of all things (nature) and in conformity to nature’s standard, human laws are framed which inflict punishment upon the wicked but protect the good.

Three kinds of law according to Cicero

LEX NATURAE (natural law)

LEX VULGUS(crowd’s idea of

law)

naked idea of law which decrees in written form whatever it wishes either by command or prohibition. refers directly to positive law.serves as an catch-all for the specimens of law which do not fall under lex caelestis or ius naturae.

Advanced the view that:The rules established by the citizens to govern

themselves fall under the jus civile. The rules common to all other persons are

classified under the jus naturale.

Advocated for a continuing process of removing such unnatural laws from the books.

GAIUS (110-190 AD)

THANK YOU

LEGAL PHILO:

http://sites.la.utexas.edu/cicero/biography/http://www.egs.edu/library/cicero/biography/http://www.iep.utm.edu/cicero/#H1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero