Vox Populi 2023

The Twelve Tables
Xavi, Lower Sixth
After the last king of Rome had
been expelled from Rome, the
new republic was governed by
a system of hierarchy between
magistrates. However, only those who
were part of the patrician class – an early
Roman aristocracy comprised of ruling
class families – were able to become
magistrates. This was among other
factors that led to great dissatisfaction
amidst the plebian class who felt that
they were unrepresented and at risk of
being subject to tyranny of a higher class
who had complete control of the law and
its interpretation. This social struggle
between classes is called the Conflict of
the Orders and lasted roughly 200 years;
the plebians effectively held the upper
hand within the struggle as they could
hold Rome ‘hostage’ by threatening to
leave the city so that it would come to a
standstill because the plebians were the
city’s labour force. The Twelve Tables
are a consequence of plebians insisting
that the previously unwritten customs
from which law in Rome was derived
be codified. The Twelve Tables were not
a reform but instead a way for regular
Roman citizens, beyond the previous
model which involved only a handful
of specialised magistrates being familiar
with the law, to know their rights as well
as the Tables acting as a safeguard from
tyranny.
Following increased pressure from
Roman plebians in the 450s BC, a
committee called the ‘decemviri’ (literally
translating After the last king of Rome
had been expelled from Rome, the new
republic was governed by a system of
hierarchy between magistrates. However,
only those who were part of the patrician
class – an early Roman aristocracy
comprised of ruling class families – were
able to become magistrates. This was
among other factors that led to great
dissatisfaction amidst the plebian class
who felt that they were unrepresented
and at risk of being subject to tyranny of a
higher class who had complete control of
the law and its interpretation. This social
struggle between classes is called the
Conflict of the Orders and lasted roughly
200 years; the plebians effectively held the
upper hand within the struggle as they
to ten men) was established and sent to
Greece in order to study the legal system
of Athens and other Greek civilisations.
The first committee completed the first
ten codes of the eventual twelve in 450BC
and a year later a second committee of ten
men completed two more codes after a
‘secessio plebis’ (secession of the plebes)
compelled the Senate to consider them.
After the last two codes were finished –
the twelve tables were finally declared
law.
The Twelve Tables was the first legal
document codifying the rights that each
and every Roman citizen had – these
tables were comprised of ‘unwritten laws’
that were already an established norm in
Roman culture. The provisions set out
by the Twelve Tables recognised legal
conventions that are now commonplace
in modern legal systems around the
work; these included equal rights for all
citizens to a fair trial by due process, laws
surrounding slander and defamation,
and differentiation between murder and
manslaughter.
The first three tables explore the rights of
citizens concerning trials, due processes in
court and how the judgement of the court
could be exacted. The first table discusses
proceedings between the plaintiff and
defendant; it considers how the court
should respond to various circumstances
such as what to do if the defendant fails to
appear in court or age/sickness prevents
them from doing so. An unusual feature
of this table for modern readers would
be the principle that if either one of the
parties failed to appear at the trial, then
the judge would make their judgement
in favour of the present party no matter
the circumstances. This also formed a
system of timetabling for the trial, as it
was decreed that all trials would end at
sunset. The second table talks further
Above: Appius Claudius Caecus in Senate - Cesare Maccari
about court proceedings – it states that if a
witness failed to show up, then the party
who summoned them could shout and
scream in front of his house every three
days. This table also states that a slave
who committed theft should be flogged
and then thrown to their death off of the
Capitoline Hill cliff.
The third table is most notable for dictating
how to deal with defrauding and areas
surrounding credit. Table III declares that
after 30 days of the debt being unpaid,
then the debtor would be brought to court
by force and the court would then hand
the debtor to the creditor for a period of
up to 60 days, which would most likely
be for labour. The conditions on which
the debtor should be held are also set out
and after the term of 60 days, the debtor
could in some circumstances be sold into
slavery.
The fourth table sets out the rights of
the ‘paterfamilias’ (the patriarch of the
family) which specifically apply to him.
This part of the code contains disturbing
proclamations such as that “dreadfully
deformed” children should be quickly
euthanised by the father and that if a
father tries to sell his son three times, then
the son will automatically become free.
This section also dictates that sons are
born into the inheritance of their family
and that if a boy is born within 10 months
of their suspected father’s death then they
are entitled to the man’s inheritance.
Tables V, VI and X discuss estates,
possession and religion and therefore
largely pertain to women as women at
the time were seen as possessions, which
is evident from the laws surrounding
ownership. Table five is concerned with
guardianship and the wills of citizens;
any inheritance was automatically given
to a man’s sons, however, if he had no
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