The Administration of Justice
During the later Empire the administration of justice was in the hands of imperial officials, who tried cases directly according to the procedure of the cognitio extra ordinem™ In Rome and Constantinople the judges of first instance were the praefecti urbi; in the provinces the normal court of first instance was that of the provincial governor.
Lower municipal magistrates continued to exercise limited jurisdiction over disputes involving small amounts of money and petty crimes. Alongside these there existed, in the later Dominate period, the defensor civitatis, a special magistrate entrusted with the protection of members of the lower classes against abuses of power committed by great landowners (potentiores, possessores). The defensor had jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters and his court was designed to deal speedily and efficiently with all kinds of cases, although his decisions were subject to appeal before the provincial governor. Under Constantine bishops too were allowed to act as judges in private disputes but, in later years, it was established that they could only hear cases which had been submitted to them by agreement of both parties concerned. The higher magistrates often carried out their judicial functions through delegates {indices dati or pedanei). The latter were usually low-ranking officers and their decisions could be appealed against to the magistrates who appointed them. As judicial magistrates were not always experts in law, they often relied on the advice of panels of adsessores, persons who had studied law at the law-schools and who usually belonged to the legal profession. Moreover, as the extra ordinem procedure was based largely on written communications, the magistrates were assisted by secretaries {scribae}.The decisions of jurisdictional magistrates could be appealed against before higher officials in the administrative hierarchy.
An appeal could be made, for instance, from a decision of a provincial governor either to the vicarius of the diocese or to the praefectus praetorio of the prefecture to which the relevant province belonged. A further appeal from the vicarius to the emperor was possible, but the decisions of the praefectus praetorio were not subject to appeal, as the latter was considered to administer justice on behalf of the emperor.[1183] Under certain exceptional circumstances the praefecti praetorio and the vicarii could deal with cases as judges of first instance, especially when a case involved a matter of great importance for the state. The emperor, as head of the state, could in principle exercise jurisdiction, both as a judge of first instance and on appeal, in all kinds of cases, whether of a civil or criminal nature; in practice, however, he rarely tried cases in person, as the nature of the imperial office during this period did not permit close contact between him and his subjects (cases submitted to him were usually referred to the praefectus praetorio or to the minister of justice).Besides the regular courts there existed also a large number of special courts which dealt with cases of a particular type or with matters concerning certain categories of persons. Most of these courts operated under the old Roman principle according to which a magistrate had administrative jurisdiction over matters arising out of his departmental duties as well as a disciplinary jurisdiction over his subordinates. A court of this type was, for example, the court of the rationalis, the magistrate who represented the public treasuiy in a diocese, which tried cases involving disputes relating to taxation and other fiscal issues. A decision of the court of the rationalis could be appealed against to the comes sacrarum largitionum, the minister in charge of state finances. Cases involving disputes over crown property were dealt with by the comes rei privatae (or comes rerum privatarum), the official entrusted with the administration of the private property of the emperor and the management of imperial lands.
At Rome and Constantinople, the praefecti annonnae had jurisdiction over matters connected with trade practices and the supply and administration of foodstuffs. Within the jurisdiction of the praefectus urbi fell cases involving violations of public order in the city and breaches of building regulations. Moreover, the praefectus urbi was the exclusive judge in cases involving members of the senatorial order, if the latter lived in Rome or Constantinople, whilst those living in the provinces came under the jurisdiction of the provincial governors.[1184] In the later Dominate period decisions of provincial governors in such cases were subject to review by the emperor or the urban or praetorian prefects. Imperial civil servants came under the jurisdiction of the heads of their departments or the master of the offices (magister officiorum), who also dealt with cases involving servants and subordinate employees of the imperial household (silentiarii, castrensiani). From the middle of the fourth century members of the clergy involved in civil disputes or accused of criminal offences could submit their cases to ecclesiastical courts for trial (privilegium fori).[1185]
More on the topic The Administration of Justice:
- The Administration of Justice: Civil Procedure
- The Administration of Justice: Civil Procedure
- The Administration of Justice:Civil Procedure
- The Administration of Criminal Justice in the Principate Age
- In the first few centuries of the Principate era, the practice of distributing functions among different sets of authorities also prevailed in the administration of justice.
- In the later imperial era, a great problem that confronted the administration of justice was the vast and diffuse nature of the legal materials that constituted the fabric of law.
- The Administration of the Provinces
- Justice
- The content of justice
- The relationship between law and justice
- The Administration of Italy and the Provinces
- Acquisition and Administration of the Inheritance
- Government and Civil Administration during the Later Empire
- How and Why Might the Passage to Justice Take Place?
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- Times and places in which justice was administered
- Legislative interpretation in the European Court of Justice
- Law and justice
- The Criminal Justice Process