Centumviral court
The centumviral court (centumviri) was the chancery court (court of equity) of ancient Rome. It was a court of justice dealing with private law (what is referred to in common law systems as civil law).
Evolution
The term centumviri literally means "100 men"; this was the original number of members from which pool the court was selected. The number of men of which the court consisted is not known. In the Republic, the number increased to 105 and later still, during the Empire, to 180.[1]
The antiquity of the court is attested by the symbol and formula used in its procedure, the lance (Latin: hasta) as the sign of true ownership, the oath or wager (Latin: sacramentum), the ancient formula for recovery of property or assertion of liberty.[2]
During the Empire, four courts were usually chosen from the pool, although the entire membership might sit in unusual cases. The Decemviri (ten men) presided over the court from the Augustan period. Membership of this council was considered to be a standard position for those embarking on the cursus honorum.
A number of notable orators appeared in this court, including Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger.
Jurisdiction
The
Location
In the second half of the 1st century the court met in the Basilica Julia in the Forum. It is likely that, like many such Roman institutions, the physical location of the court was apt to change.
Cicero's account
The centumviri were mainly concerned with the property of which account was taken at the
References
- ^ Clay 1911.
- ^ a b public domain: Clay, Agnes Muriel (1911). "Centumviri". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 683–684. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 0-19-860641-9.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-19-825337-0.