Vox Populi 2023

British Museum
Johan, Third Form
Roman Legal Procedure
Xavi, Lower Sixth
On Monday 6th January, the classics
department and students went on a trip,
visiting the British Museum. Upon arrival,
we first got to explore the fascinating
hieroglyphics exhibition, featuring the
world-famous Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta
Stone was a relatively insignificant
proclamation from King Ptolemy V, but
was inscribed in 3 different languages,
demotic, hieroglyphic and Greek
allowing experts to translate demotic
and hieroglyphic. It was very interesting
to learn about the history of the Rosetta
Stone and how it made its way from
Egypt to the British Museum after being
discovered by the French. We got to see
the wide variety of different hieroglyphics
and how they could form new words in
different combinations. There are in total
over 700 hieroglyphics, many of which
were difficult to tell apart, making it a
very difficult language to decipher.
There were also lots of Egyptian statues to
see, which were impressively carved out
of stone. Many of them were Sphynxes
with lion’s hindquarters. Afterwards,
we were able to explore the museum
independently, which allowed us to
explore our own historical interests. I
personally really enjoyed visiting the
medicine display that explores the
thousands of drugs and pills that an
average British person takes in a lifetime.
I was shocked to find out how many
pills people on average end up taking
throughout their lives. This exhibition
also provides a fascinating opportunity
to appreciate the wonders of modern
medicine that have so greatly improved
our lives. Finally, we had time to browse
the gift shop in order to find things with
which to remember our trip by.
Below: The Sphinx
The legal procedure that Rome
used in its courts evolved
throughout the lifetime of the
Republic and then Empire; the
foundations that the Romans laid for
legal method have been used as the base
for the legal systems for the majority of
European countries and others around
the world. The development of the
system was shaped by three major events:
the ‘legis actiones’, the ‘formulary system’
and the ‘cognitio extraordinaria’ which
was in use after the fall of Rome.
The ’legis actiones’ were formulated
around the same time as the Twelves
Tables of Roman law in the fifth century
BC – these acts divided the court
proceedings into several steps. A plaintiff
would first have to address the defendant
in a public forum and request them to
go to court; however, if the defendant
refused to go to court, they would be
taken there by force. Each case that was
taken to court was separated into two
parts, the first of which was primarily
a formality where a magistrate would
decide whether there was a good case for
a trial and, if there was, they would set out
the specifics of the issue. Once the issues
at hand had been defined, a ‘iudex’ who
was a sort of legal layman as opposed to
a barrister or magistrate would be chosen
by both the plaintiff and defendant. The
second part of the trial would happen
under the supervision of this iudex,
this stage was less formal than the first
and it was here that witnesses would be
called to the stand, evidence set out and
barristers would make their arguments.
However, the verdict that the iudex came
to was simply advisory and they did not
have the power to execute the decision;
unlike modern judicial systems, the party
which won the trial was responsible for
enforcing the judge’s verdict themselves.
If the losing party refused to pay the
penalty, then the court was allowed
to bring them back by force and pay a
heftier penalty. This heightened penalty
depended on the nature of the original
trial – if the case involved debt, then the
debtor’s assets could seized or they could
be given as a slave to the plaintiff until
the debt was paid off. The alternative was
to sell them into slavery or to have them
dismembered.
As Roman society evolved, the cases that
came to the courts grew more complex
and in turn the judicial system advanced.
The new formulary system was created to
replace the overly formal and traditional
‘legis actionis’ system; its roots were
found in the way in which praetors dealt
with foreigners, but it was deemed so
effective that its use was adopted into
regular Roman law. These reforms meant
that the process was more streamlined as
well as the proceedings now being written
down. The pre-existing custom of calling
the defendant to court remained, but now
the plaintiff could physically drag the
defendant to court. The formulary system
got its name from the formula used in
the preliminary hearing comprised of six
stages: nominatio, intentio, condemnatio,
demonstratio, exceptio, and praescriptio.
The main difference between trials under
the formulary system and those of modern
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