MODULE 1: ROMAN LAW
1. What was the original purpose for which Roman law began to develop?
- As a system to adjudicate conflicts between individuals (in archaic times)
- A responsibility to guarantee order in society
- Dispute and chaos
2. Describe the formalism which was characteristic to early Roman law.
- Formal and rigid
- Ritualistic and verbal
- No free narrative of problems and solutions
- Instead a closed list of causes of actions (legis actiones) that litigants can appeal
to
- Different procedures for different causes
- Inadequate cause of action could lead to the termination of proceedings
3. Who were the praetors? Why was their work central to the development of Roman
law?
- Special officials
- Nominated annually
- To oversee the resolutions of conflicts
- First followed existing procedures verbatim
- Then began to make modifications
- Authority to issue edicts and provided guidelines
- Practice and make law at the same time
4. Explain to yourself the legal process in iure and apud iudicem.
- "in iure" (before a magistrate) "in iure" phase involved the initiation of legal
proceedings and the appointment of judges— a “preliminary hearing” today.
Identifying the legal issues, whether the court will want to hear the case.
- "apud iudicem" phase was the actual trial phase in front of IUDEX (THE JUDGE)
where evidence was presented, legal arguments were made, and a verdict was
reached.
5. Who were the Roman "jurists"? Where did they come from? How did they relate to
the official institutions of the Republic and later the Empire?
Methods on legal phenomena, invented terminology, principles, series of ideas.
Identified legal problems (quaestio iuris). Summarizing legal cases.They did not have a
degree or official law education, but they were still important. Their success mainly
,depended on their reputation. Strong influence in the republic era. In the empire era
they became institutionalized. They were tried to be limited by multiple emperors, but it
didn’t work really. UNTIL, Theodisus II declared illegal the teaching of law outside
state-sanctioned institutions.
6. What different forms of written Roman legislation does Herzog discuss?
- Statutes (leges)
- Plebiscita: laws made in assemblies of plebeians (lower class, patricians are
upper class)
- Oratio principis: emperors’ speeches to Senate to decide which norms to apply
- Codex gregorianus
- Codex theodisanus
- Published edicts (list of remedies)
- Rendered judgements (decreta)
- Questions of law answered by praetors: rescripta
7. Through the example of Hispania, explain how Roman civil law spread across the
empire. How did this expansion affect Roman law in Rome and in the periphery?
- They didn't make the territory Roman, but instead made the foreigners citizens.
- Rather than making the territory Roman, they transformed foreigners into
citizens, and rather than arguing that Roman law should be universally applied,
they redefined the extension of the Roman community by including in it all the
inhabitants of the empire. Roman law theoretically remained the same; what
changed was the definition of who Romans were.
- led to important developments. One that has drawn the attention of many
scholars was the emergence of a series of peripheral or provincial Roman legal
systems. These included local expressions of Roman law, which were radically
different from place to place and vastly diverse over time.
8. What was the Corpus Iuris Civilis and why is it so important in Western legal history?
- Collection of various pieces of Roman Law
- Sanctioned by Justinian
- Prepared by a committee of experts with the aim of guarding, restoring, the glory
of roman law.
- Also, supplying a practical code for the eastern empire and a teaching tool for
students.
- represents a comprehensive codification of Roman law.
, - important in Western legal history because it preserved and systematized Roman
law, had a lasting influence on legal thought and practice, and played a key role
in the development of modern legal systems in Europe
9. How did Rome become Christianized?
- Emperor Constantine the Great converted in early 300s
- Issued edict of milan: granted toleration to all religions
- He supported and legalized christianity
- Enacted laws that favored christianity
- Suppressed pagan practices by law
- The cultures became entrenched eventually (roman and christian)
10. What impact did Christianity have on Roman law, and how did Roman law and
empire change Christianity?
- Christianity did not fundamentally change Roman private law (ius civile)
- – Some influence: sin as crime, family law
- ■ But Romanization transformed Christianity
- – Adapted to the existing Roman state, law, and authorities
- Ø Transformed from a critical philosophy to official State doctrine
MODULE 2: ANCIENT CHINA & CONFUCIANISM
1. What is the 'dynastic cycle'? Why are dynasties so important in Chinese
history?
Dynasty stands for “ruling family”. It arose during the agricultural era.
It was important because dynastic leaders were believed to connect people to God.
Dynastic cycle: It began with a courageous leader who led a rebellion to overthrow a
corrupt dynasty ruled by an incompetent emperor. To justify the uprising, the leader
would make his followers believe that the emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven to
rule the country. The leader would then declare himself emperor, and begin a new
dynasty.In the beginning, the new emperor would abolish harsh laws, reduce taxes,
revive the economy, and achieve a period of prosperity. Several generations into the
dynasty, the successors became reluctant to carry out their founding emperor’s policies.
Instead of maintaining a benevolent way of governance, they would increase taxes,
impose draconian laws, and persecute intellectuals. In the end, rebellions would break
out. Any emergencies, such as foreign invasions or natural disasters, would push the
already weakened dynasty to its breaking point. Later, another ambitious leader would
emerge and start a new cycle.
1. What was the original purpose for which Roman law began to develop?
- As a system to adjudicate conflicts between individuals (in archaic times)
- A responsibility to guarantee order in society
- Dispute and chaos
2. Describe the formalism which was characteristic to early Roman law.
- Formal and rigid
- Ritualistic and verbal
- No free narrative of problems and solutions
- Instead a closed list of causes of actions (legis actiones) that litigants can appeal
to
- Different procedures for different causes
- Inadequate cause of action could lead to the termination of proceedings
3. Who were the praetors? Why was their work central to the development of Roman
law?
- Special officials
- Nominated annually
- To oversee the resolutions of conflicts
- First followed existing procedures verbatim
- Then began to make modifications
- Authority to issue edicts and provided guidelines
- Practice and make law at the same time
4. Explain to yourself the legal process in iure and apud iudicem.
- "in iure" (before a magistrate) "in iure" phase involved the initiation of legal
proceedings and the appointment of judges— a “preliminary hearing” today.
Identifying the legal issues, whether the court will want to hear the case.
- "apud iudicem" phase was the actual trial phase in front of IUDEX (THE JUDGE)
where evidence was presented, legal arguments were made, and a verdict was
reached.
5. Who were the Roman "jurists"? Where did they come from? How did they relate to
the official institutions of the Republic and later the Empire?
Methods on legal phenomena, invented terminology, principles, series of ideas.
Identified legal problems (quaestio iuris). Summarizing legal cases.They did not have a
degree or official law education, but they were still important. Their success mainly
,depended on their reputation. Strong influence in the republic era. In the empire era
they became institutionalized. They were tried to be limited by multiple emperors, but it
didn’t work really. UNTIL, Theodisus II declared illegal the teaching of law outside
state-sanctioned institutions.
6. What different forms of written Roman legislation does Herzog discuss?
- Statutes (leges)
- Plebiscita: laws made in assemblies of plebeians (lower class, patricians are
upper class)
- Oratio principis: emperors’ speeches to Senate to decide which norms to apply
- Codex gregorianus
- Codex theodisanus
- Published edicts (list of remedies)
- Rendered judgements (decreta)
- Questions of law answered by praetors: rescripta
7. Through the example of Hispania, explain how Roman civil law spread across the
empire. How did this expansion affect Roman law in Rome and in the periphery?
- They didn't make the territory Roman, but instead made the foreigners citizens.
- Rather than making the territory Roman, they transformed foreigners into
citizens, and rather than arguing that Roman law should be universally applied,
they redefined the extension of the Roman community by including in it all the
inhabitants of the empire. Roman law theoretically remained the same; what
changed was the definition of who Romans were.
- led to important developments. One that has drawn the attention of many
scholars was the emergence of a series of peripheral or provincial Roman legal
systems. These included local expressions of Roman law, which were radically
different from place to place and vastly diverse over time.
8. What was the Corpus Iuris Civilis and why is it so important in Western legal history?
- Collection of various pieces of Roman Law
- Sanctioned by Justinian
- Prepared by a committee of experts with the aim of guarding, restoring, the glory
of roman law.
- Also, supplying a practical code for the eastern empire and a teaching tool for
students.
- represents a comprehensive codification of Roman law.
, - important in Western legal history because it preserved and systematized Roman
law, had a lasting influence on legal thought and practice, and played a key role
in the development of modern legal systems in Europe
9. How did Rome become Christianized?
- Emperor Constantine the Great converted in early 300s
- Issued edict of milan: granted toleration to all religions
- He supported and legalized christianity
- Enacted laws that favored christianity
- Suppressed pagan practices by law
- The cultures became entrenched eventually (roman and christian)
10. What impact did Christianity have on Roman law, and how did Roman law and
empire change Christianity?
- Christianity did not fundamentally change Roman private law (ius civile)
- – Some influence: sin as crime, family law
- ■ But Romanization transformed Christianity
- – Adapted to the existing Roman state, law, and authorities
- Ø Transformed from a critical philosophy to official State doctrine
MODULE 2: ANCIENT CHINA & CONFUCIANISM
1. What is the 'dynastic cycle'? Why are dynasties so important in Chinese
history?
Dynasty stands for “ruling family”. It arose during the agricultural era.
It was important because dynastic leaders were believed to connect people to God.
Dynastic cycle: It began with a courageous leader who led a rebellion to overthrow a
corrupt dynasty ruled by an incompetent emperor. To justify the uprising, the leader
would make his followers believe that the emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven to
rule the country. The leader would then declare himself emperor, and begin a new
dynasty.In the beginning, the new emperor would abolish harsh laws, reduce taxes,
revive the economy, and achieve a period of prosperity. Several generations into the
dynasty, the successors became reluctant to carry out their founding emperor’s policies.
Instead of maintaining a benevolent way of governance, they would increase taxes,
impose draconian laws, and persecute intellectuals. In the end, rebellions would break
out. Any emergencies, such as foreign invasions or natural disasters, would push the
already weakened dynasty to its breaking point. Later, another ambitious leader would
emerge and start a new cycle.
