Chapter 1 - roman law

Question 1

What are the 3 books of the Corpus juris civilis

Answer 1

1. Codex
2. Digests
3. Institutes

Question 2

What do the Codex, Digests and Institutes stand for

Answer 2

Codex = Book of legislation 
Digests = Digests of juristic writings 
Institutes = student training manual that summarized and organized the Digests

Question 3

what are the Digests

Answer 3

Digest of juristic writings, the principal source of our knowledge of the classical period Roman law.

Question 4

Who is Justinian

Answer 4

aka Byzantine Emperor Justinian I: he compiled the Corpus Juris Civilis, ruler of the eastern empire.
He felt himself called to the task of renewing the old glory of the Imperium Romanum

Question 5

Who are the jursiconsults

Answer 5

Academics consulted in the compilation of the Corpus Juris Civilis, usually retired judges/praetors

Question 6

Ulpian’s Regulae

Answer 6

Text by Ulpian that gave rise to the group of excerpts consisting of responsa and questions

Ulpian was the Roman jurist and imperial official whose writings supplied one-third of the total content of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I’s monumental Digest

Question 7

What are the institutes of Gaius

Answer 7

It formed the official textbook for beginners in the study of law

Question 8

What are the 12 tables

Answer 8

Set of laws inscribed on 12 bronze tablets in ancient rome (451, 450 BCE) negotiated by the Patricians and the plebians

Question 9

what are the three strands

Answer 9

Law as reason
Law as expression
Law as social order

Question 10

significance of 12 Tables to the 3 strands - law as order

Answer 10

Exemplifies law as a social order to enforce a pattern of behavior, constructing society to be in a certain way

Question 11

Aristotle and his relation to the three strands?

Answer 11

Aristotle posited law as reason
In The Politics, “. “The law is reason free from passion…Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.””

Question 12

Who is associated with the strand of Law as God’s Will

Answer 12

St Augustine

Question 13

St Augustine’s influence?

Answer 13

Incorporated law into Christianity. His seminal work is City of God.
In this book, He contrasted a City of Man vs a City of God.

Laws help a City of Man progress to a City of God.

This process of enlightenment was what God had intended all along since he gave us free will but also punishes individuals who disobey him.

Question 14

what is st thomas aquinas’ influence

Answer 14

ties the strands of divine law / eternal law, human law, natural law together

Question 15

Book written by Aquinas

Answer 15

Summa Theologica

Question 16

what is Eternal law

Answer 16

Law that is governed by God the Ruler, the divine reason’s conception of things

Question 17

what is natural law

Answer 17

a rational being’s participation in the eternal law. Aquinas posits that our ability to reason and our will is derived from NATURE.
Natural law intermediates between human law and eternal law.

Question 18

what is human law

Answer 18

human laws are determinations devised from human reason based on the general and indemonstrable principles of natural law.
Examples of human law are the positive, civil laws that guide us towards the 7 basic goals of life: life, reproduction, education of one’s offspring, seeking god, living in society, avoiding offence, shun ignorance

Question 19

how does aquinas tie the three strands together

Answer 19

through the idea of natural law: For humans, our every act of reason and will is derived naturally and thus according to nature.
Thus, reasoning that is based on natural principles means that reasons which direct our actions, inducing us to act in a certain way is in virtue of natural law

Natural law is OUR approximation of divine laws (which we cannot access fully because of our emotions and ignorance)

Question 20

what are the 7 basic goods that human seek according to natural laws

Answer 20

natural law is our human approximation of divine law:

life, reproduction, education of one’s offspring, seeking god, living in society, avoiding offence, shun ignorance

living in society = (idea that humans crave affection and acceptance)
avoiding offense = (Aquinas said that we feel shame and guilt when we do things that shun our group from us)