Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

glossary

the difference between large and small violations of agreements. Contrast stricti iuris . Civil law. The family of legal systems descended (more or less directly) from Roman law. Most of the law of continental Europe is civil. Common law. The legal system of Great Britain and its descen dants (including the United States). Consul. The highest ranking of the Roman magistrates ( see below). Two served at a time, sharing (in theory) the powers of the for mer kings, though these were reduced over time. Cognitio . “Investigation.” A name conventionally given to a pro cedure in which a magistrate looked into a legal matter (poten tially civil or criminal) and rendered a decision. Contrast the procedures of the quaestiones or formulary trials, in which the parties took the initiative and the case was decided only by the judge(s), who was himself not a government agent. Cognitio arose in the provinces, but under the Empire became the ordi nary form of procedure in Rome as well. Damnum infectum . “Damage not (yet) done.” If a neighbor’s property threatened yours (whether through construction, dis repair, or some other problem), you could get the praetor to force him to promise payment for the potential future damage. Damnum iniuria datum . “Damage wrongly done.” An early statute (the lex Aquilia ) allowed you to collect compensation (doubled in some cases) for damage done to your property under certain circumstances. See Chapter 18 for details. Delict. An offense against a person (not the whole community) that arises from general obligations rather than from a specific

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