Why is the legacy of Roman law considered so important?

Answer 1

Roman civil law established some important legal principles: equality before the law; no none is above the law, the right to a trial and the right to appeal, innocence until proven guilty, the burden of proof rests on the accuser, not the accused, unfair laws can be repealed. Roman law also established the principle citizenship status and that citizens had civil rights, including the right to vote.

Answer 2

The influence of Roman civil law spread through Europe with the rediscovery of a collection of books called Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law), which was also dubbed the Justinian Code in the 16th century. It was commissioned by the emperor Justinian I (or the Great, reigned 527-565) in 529. It was a very comprehensive collection of extracts from four centuries of Roman law. It put the laws in a single book (previously they were written on many different scrolls), scrapped obsolete or unnecessary laws, made changes when necessary, and clarified obscure passages. Its aim was to harmonise conflicting views among jurists which arose from centuries of poorly organised development of Roman law and have a uniform and coherent body of law. It also included collections of essays by famous Roman jurists in two student textbooks, one for first year law students and one for advanced students.

This work was forgotten until it was discovered in a library in Pisa in 1070. It had a big impact because it provided a comprehensive and coherent body of law which was lacking in Europe at the time. The first university in Europe, Bologna University (in Italy), became important because of its law faculty. It had four professors who specialised in the study of the Digest (as it was then known). It attracted law students from around Europe. The work at this university laid the foundations of Medieval Roman law. The use of the Digest for the training of the fledgling profession of lawyers spread around Western Europe.

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (reigned 1122-1190) was the first European ruler to employ the new professional class of lawyers to run the administration of a state. The Digesta provided a framework for a consistent system of administration. It also made of for the loss of legitimacy of the claim of divine right to rule which had been suffered by his predecessors with their controversies with the papacy. The rule of law now became the legitimiser.

Napoleon I established the Napoleonic Code in 1804. It was the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope. It strongly influenced the law of many of the countries established during and after the Napoleonic Wars and therefore on continental western European civil law. In was inspired by the Corpus Juris Civilis and used several of its legal definitions. However, it was not a digest of edited texts of existing law. It was a rewriting of law which replaced a patchwork of feudal laws and it was more systematic. It streamlined the law and made it clearer and more accessible. It formed the basis of the private 19th century law systems of Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal Poland and parts of what is now Germany. It has influenced the contemporary civil law systems of Europe except for the British Isles, Russia and Scandinavia. It has been influential in some developing countries, especially in the Middle East,

Answer 3

It was codified and written down for all to see, replacing the previous system where aristocrats kept it in their heads, and lesser people had to come a-begging to get advice and representation, making them clients of the aristocrat, obliged to support him politically and financially in repayment for his legal knowledge and influence.