Roman Law (736 words) Essay Example For Students

Roman Law (736 words) Essay Roman LawRoman LawRomans did not have very complicated lawsbut when they were broken there was very heavy punishment. Romanlaws influenced most of the laws we have now and most of the laws of othercountries. Americas court system was modeled around the Roman court system. They had upper courts and lower courts and that was what built our strongcourt system now. One thing that we did not take from the Romansis the right to be a Citizen. In Rome there were very strict class systemsand they were classified greatly by clothes, shelter, and seating at thegames. The word citizen for them meant that you had to be free andlived in Rome. The class system was always followed no matter what. You could move up from your rank in society but then you would have towork really hard and it was not easy because people would still look atyou as a low class. The class systems from highest to lowest werethe senators, councilmen and their families. Then came the regularmiddle class citizens, next were the Plebeians who were very poor but notslaves and last was the slaves who owned nothing at all not even the clotheson their back because it all belonged to their master. Therefore, if slaves were caught runningaway they were brought upon charges of theft for stealing themselves andtheir masters clothing. Stealing held a very heavy punishment andthat punishment was always upheld. The punishment was capital punishmentand all of this was done to teach them a lesson. Some say the Romanshad a very strange way of doing things but, the way their country was setupmost of their laws were necessary for them. All of this got started with the TwelveTables of Rome. Which were much like the Ten Commandments exceptman made them up. They were engraved into Bronze tablets and madeup by ten Roman Magistrates around early 450 BC. The laws were reallymade to please the Plebeians because they complained that they didnt getany rights because the laws were never written down and were often changed. After this the Plebeians could no longer be fooled because the Twelve Tablescovered all aspects of the law briefly stating the crime and then the punishment. This was where the court system came inbecause the courts were the ones that had to follow by the Twelve Tablesand there was no way to cheat the Plebeians because the laws were in themain Forum hanging up for those purposes. Since our court systemwas modeled around theirs then it was basically like it is now. Theyhad upper courts and lower courts and the right to an appeal was very wellgranted but only with good reasoning. The only thing about theircourt system that we did not take on in a big way is capital punishment. I say this because the Romans loved to kill any one who broke any of theirlaws but we do not kill unless you have killed first. Another aspect of Roman law is crucifixion,which was what was done to Jesus Christ. The Romans show very littlemercy on anyone who comes across them. They show even less mercyto strangers that try to change them because nobody likes change but theRoman officials despised it because it would no longer make them rich andpowerful to the people. Family laws were less harsh than state laws. .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .postImageUrl , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:hover , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:visited , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:active { border:0!important; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:active , .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7 .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uedd48c390116f7a8e28765709f9032f7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: HDTV: The Emergence of a New Generation in Televis EssayFamily law was much different especiallyfor higher classed people. The children of that time were beat onoccasion when they did something wrong but it was never on a regular basis. They had hearts when it came to family. The girls still had verylittle freedom to choose husbands and to plan their own life and they weremarried off very early. To parents it was a relief to finally marryoff their girl child but to marry of a boy child meant more wealth to theirfamily. In Conclusion the Romans had a very uncomplicatedlegal system and since everything was so easy to comprehend if you brokeone of their laws sixty percent of the time you were sentenced to deathwith out thinking but other times you were just banished. Ourlaws came straight from out of Rome because the law system worked verywell for them. Only certain aspects of their laws were not adoptedby us because they were thought to be too cruel. But, what couldyou say except for when your in the Romans house do as they do or youcould get capital punishment for doing what you thing is right.