Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

glossary

Note that adult children are still under this power, but wives are not. Infamia . A state of formal disgrace, accompanied by a variety of disabilities (inability to hold office, make certain pleadings in court, testify). Conviction of various crimes and delicts, defeat in civil trials on certain matters, and membership in certain professions all brought about various kinds of infamia . Iniuria . “Wrong action.” Harm to a free person’s reputation (but not body) could result in an action in court resulting in the award of double (or more) damages. See also damnum iniuria datum . Interdict. Any of several orders from the praetor commanding or forbidding certain actions, ordinarily at the request of another party. These were framed in effectively conditional form, so a target who ignored the order would typically have a chance to explain himself in court later. Intestate. Without a (valid) will. Iudex . A “judge” who decided civil cases or one of several “jurors” who heard criminal cases. The iudex was not an active presiding officer in either kind of procedure (in contrast to a modern judge). Ius civile. “Law among citizens,” a phrase often used to denote statute law (as opposed to the Edict) or to distinguish specifi cally Roman law from principles that spanned systems (called ius gentium ). Jurist. A specialist in legal matters. Jurists might give legal advice, write on legal matters, teach law, and/or (under the empire) be employed by the state as part of the legal apparatus. You did

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