The Goals of Justinian's Legislative Programme

In 533, Justinian declared “the Imperial Majesty should not only be made glorious by arms but also armed with laws, so that good government may prevail in time of war and peace alike” (Prooemium to the Institutes).

It is clear that the Emperor saw himself in the role of a great legislator, who would transform the legal world of his realm through an ambitious project of restating, updating and reforming the law.

As noted previously, the imperial government had endeavoured in the fifth century to create some order in the mass of laws claiming validity in the Empire. However, the Theodosian Code (ad 438) was from the outset incomplete as it did not include the important part of Roman law based on the writings of the classical jurists. Furthermore, many new imperial constitutions had been issued in the period following the enactment of that code and several constitutions it embodied became outdated. The Law of Citations (ad 426) had reduced the uncertainty concerning the content and authenticity of juristic works, thus enhancing the chances for uniformity and predictability in judicial decision-making. Yet, from the viewpoint of scientific arrangement and thoroughness it was obviously inadequate. The situation prompted an urgent need for the formulation of a comprehensive, accurate and authoritative statement of the law currently in force that clarified the changes introduced by the post-Theodosian legislation and removed the uncertainty surrounding the application of the jurists' law. The production of such a statement was one of the first tasks that Justinian set himself when he became emperor. At the same time, he resolved to systematize and improve the quality of legal instruction by introducing an educational system based on easily accessible and dependable legal sources. Accordingly, commissions composed of jurists and senior state officials were assigned the task of reviewing the extant body of legal materials with the following goals: (a) the collection and editing, with a view to their current applicability, of all imperial statutes promulgated up to that time; (b) the gathering, updating and harmonizing of the works from the major Roman jurists; and (c) the compilation of a standard textbook that would clearly and systematically introduce the first principles of the law to students.

A key figure in this project was Tribonianus, head of the imperial chanceries and Justinian's Minister of Justice. Other major contributors were Theophilus, a professor (antecessor) at the law school of Constantinople; and Dorotheus and Anatolius, who taught at the law school of Beirut. As observed earlier, their new insight into the works of the classical age enabled the jurists from these two schools to enhance the standards of legal scholarship and provide the knowledge and methods that made the projected legal reform possible. It should be added that even though it raised the level of judicial activity, the revival of interest in classical law also exacerbated the difficulties of legal practitioners: the classical works were great in number; contained an immense number of cases and problems; and abounded in disputes and contradictions. This precipitated the need for a legislative limitation and simplification of the entire body of inherited legal material.

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Source: Mousourakis G.. Fundamentals of Roman Private Law. Springer, 2012.— 366 p.. 2012

The Goals of Justinian's Legislative Programme

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