Flashcards on Legal History: Rome to South Africa
Exploring Legal History: Rome to South Africa's Hybrid System
Tap to flip · Swipe to navigate
Roman Law
39 cards
Card 1
Question: Who was the Byzantine emperor responsible for codifying Roman law in the 6th century AD?
Answer: Emperor Justinian (AD 527–565).
Card 2
Question: What was Justinian’s main reason for commissioning a codification of Roman law?
Answer: Roman law was chaotic, inaccessible, and contained different dispensations; he wanted one primary, systematic source to restore legal science.
Card 3
Question: What is the name of Justinian’s codification of Roman law?
Answer: The Corpus Iuris Civilis.
Card 4
Question: List the four parts of the Corpus Iuris Civilis.
Answer: 1) The Institutes (Institutiones) 2) The Digest (Digesta) 3) The Code (Codex) 4) The Novellae (Novels).
Card 5
Question: What was the purpose of the Institutes (Institutiones)?
Answer: A textbook for law students providing a complete written explanation of Roman law.
Card 6
Question: What did the Digest (Digesta) consist of?
Answer: A codification of the works of the Roman jurists.
Card 7
Question: What was included in the Code (Codex)?
Answer: A collection of codified imperial legislation.
Card 8
Question: What are the Novellae (Novels) in the Corpus Iuris Civilis?
Answer: New legislation passed by Justinian after the publication of the Code.
Card 9
Question: When was the Corpus Iuris Civilis received in Western Europe?
Answer: In the 12th century (about six centuries after Justinian).
Card 10
Question: What major historical developments contributed to Roman law’s limited influence in Western Europe immediately after Justinian?
Answer: The Germanic tribes’ conquest, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, disintegration into the Dark Middle Ages, and the rise of feudalism.