CORPUS IURIS CIVILIS

THE STUDY OF THE FIRST-EVER CODIFIED BODY OF CIVIL LAW

Justinian I, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor issued an order to collect legal materials of various kinds into several new codes, spurred on by the revival of interest in the study of Roman Law in the Middle Ages. This revived Roman law, in turn, became the foundation of law in all Civil Law Jurisdictions. The provisions of the Corpus Iuris Civilis also influenced the Canon Law of the church since it was said that ecclesia vivit lege romana — the church lives under Roman Law.

The work was directed by Tribonian, an official in Justinian's court, and distributed in three parts: Digesta (or "Pandectae"), Instititiones and the Codex Constitutionum/Codex Justinianus. The fourt part Novellae Constitutiones was added later.

Corpus Iuris Civilis ("the Body of Civil Law") was issued between 529 and 534 AD and compiled, in the Latin language, all of the existing imperial constitutiones (imperial pronouncements having the force of law), back to the time of Emperor Hadrian, and used both the Codex Theodosianus and the fourth-century collections embodied in the Codex Gregorianus and the Codex Hermogenianus, which provided the model for division into books that were divided into titles. These codices had developed authoritative standing.

The Corpus Iuris Civilis was composed and distributed in the Latin language, which was still the official language of the government of the Empire in 529 - 534 AD, whereas the prevalent language of merchants, farmers, seamen, and other citizens was Greek. By the early 7th century, the official government language segued into the Greek under the lengthy reign of Heraclius (610 - 641).

Contents

Corpus Iuris Civilis contains the following:

1. Codex Justinianus
2. Digesta/Pandectae
3. Institutiones
4. Novellae

Codex Justinianus collects the constitutiones of the Roman Emperors. The earliest statute preserved in the code was enacted by Emperor Hadrian; the latest came from Justinian himself. The compilers of the code were able to draw on earlier works such as the official Codex Theodosianus and private collections like the Codex Gregorianus and the Codex Hermogenianus. Due to legal reforms by Justinian himself, this work later needed to be updated, so a second edition of the Codex (the so-called "Codex repetitae praelectionis") was issued in 534, after the Digesta. It reflects the social order of the later Empire. The position of the Emperor as an absolute Monarch with unlimited legislative, executive and judicial power is implicit throughout, something which became criticised by Montesquieu later.

Under Codex Justinianus, Orthodox Christianity was secured as the only state religion of the entire Empire, uniting the Church and the State, and making anyone who was not connected to the Christian church a non-citizen (also later criticised by Montesquieu). The very first law in the Codex requires that all persons under the jurisdiction of the Empire to hold the holy Orthodox (Christian) faith. This was primarily aimed against heresies such as Arianism. This text later became the springboard for discussions of international law, especially the question of just what persons are under the jurisdiction of a given state or legal system. Other laws, while not aimed at Paganism as such, forbid particular pagan practices. It is provided that all persons present at a pagan sacrifice may be indicted as if for murder.

The principle of "Servitude of the Jews" (Servitus Judaeorum) was established by the new laws, and determined the status of Jews throughout the Empire for hundreds of years. The Jews were disadvantaged in a number of ways. The Jews were not allowed to testify against Christians and they were disqualified from holding a public office. Jewish civil and religious rights were restricted. In principle the laws mandates that "they shall enjoy no honours". In worship the use of the Hebrew language was forbidden. Shema Yisrael, which was sometimes considered as the most important prayer in Judaism ("Hear, O Israel, YAHWEH our God, YAHWEH is one") was banned, and it was considered as a denial of the Trinity. A Jew who converted to Christianity was entitled to inherit his or her father's estate, excluding his/her still-Jewish brothers and sisters. The Emperor became an arbitrator in internal Jewish disputes. Similar laws applied to the Samaritans.

The Digesta or Pandectae consist of a collection of legal writings mostly dating back to the second and third centuries. There were fragments taken out of various legal treatises and opinions and were inserted in the Digesta. In their original context, the statements of the law contained in these fragments were just legal doctrines or private opinions of legal scholars. However, the Digesta given the force of law like the other parts of the Corpus Iuris Civilis.

As the Digesta neared completion, Tribonian and other two professors, Theophilus and Dorotheus created a students' textbook, which was called the Institutiones, whic means 'Elements'. Because there were four elements, as such, the manual consists of four books. The Institutiones are largely based on the Institutiones of Gaius and two thirds of the Institutiones of Justinian consists of literal quotes from Gaius.

The Novellae consisted of new laws that were passed after 534. They were later re-worked into the Syntagma, a practical lawyer's edition, by Athanasions of Emesa between the years 572 - 577 AD.

See Other Note: Critics by Montesquieu on Corpus Iuris Civilis