The Early History of Delict and Crime

ANCIENT LAW

The Early History of Delict and Crime

Pre Criminal Law Stage
Wrongs, Torts and Sins

Transformation to Criminal Law Stage

Formation of Bill of Pains and Penalty Trial by delegated Commissions (on Distinct Crimes) Trial by periodically-made Commissions (on expected Distinct Crimes) Trial by Permanent Commissions Changing nature of the Popular Assembly

Completion of Criminal Law Stage

Wrongs, Torts ands Sins

PRE- CRIMINAL LAW

Crimes (Crimina) and Wrongs (Delicta)

ANCIENT COMMUNITIES NO Penal Laws, Law of Crimes ONLY Torts, Law of Wrongs Immense System of Compensation (Laws of Germanic Tribes)
Sometimes use for income gain

Person injured proceeds against the wrong-doer by an ordinary civil action, and recovers compensation in the shape of money-damages if he succeeds.

Sins
ATHENS (Senate of Areopagus) special religious code

ROME

the Pontifical jurisprudence punished adultery, sacrilege and perhaps murder

Formation of Bill of Pains and Penalty

CRIMINAL LAW PERIOD

Earliest Conception of Crime

Analogy of a personal wrong:
THE STATE AVENGED ITSELF BY A SINGLE ACTION THE INDIVIDUAL WRONG-DOER

Every offence vitally touching its security or its interests was punished by a separate enactment of the legislature.
wholly extraordinary wholly irregular wholly independent of settled rules and fixed conditions.

Legis Actio Sacramenti (Roman Law of Actions)

Oldest form of Roman litigation Plaintiff vs. Defendant
Plaintiff stakes a wager (Sacramentum) Defendant accepts wager Praetor (Representing the State) decides WINNER gets the Sacramentum
State gets a sum of money for renumeration

Early Conception of Crime

Guide the measure of vengeance likely to be exacted by an aggrieved person under the circumstances of the case.

Thievery (Law of Twelve Tables)

Manifest Theft Non-Manifest Theft

Trial by delegated Commissions (on Distinct Crimes)

Trial by delegated Commissions (on Distinct Crimes)

Comitia (Popular Assembly) delegated criminal jurisdiction to Quaestio (COMMISSION)

Qustio only appointed to try a particular offender

Formed when and as state-offences were committed Temporary in nature

Trial by periodically-made Commissions (on expected Distinct Crimes)

Trial by periodically-made Commissions (on expected Distinct Crimes)

Further development of the Quaestio Formed in chance of certain classes of crimes being committed, and in the expectation that they will be perpetrated Temporary in nature still

Trial by Permanent Commissions

Trial by Permanent Commissions

Permanent Benches or Chambers Akin to modern Court of Law Commission directed to be chosen through all future time in a particular way and from a particular classand when certain acts are described in general language and declared to be crimes, to be visited, in the event of their perpetration, with specified penalties appropriated to each description.

The Comitia and the Qustiones

DISAPPEARANCE OF DEATH PENALTY AND COMPLETION OF CRIMINAL LAW BY THE EMPIRE

Disappearance of Death Penalty

Dependence of the Qustiones (Commissions) on the Comitia (Popular Assembly)

COMITIA CENTURIATA - allowed for the capital punishment akin to one rendered to soldiers.

COMITIA CURIATA - fettered on the sacredness of a Roman citizen and shunned from the grave penalties
COMITIA TRIBUTA - imposed fines only against those make offenses

Disappearance of Death Penalty

COMITIA TRIBUTA (Assembly of Tribes)
Could not impose the penalty of death

Community neither feels that it is sufficiently revenged on the criminal, nor thinks that the example of his punishment is adequate to deter others from imitating him.
Ended with the days of the Republic.

Completion of Criminal Law

EMPIRES PROJECT

Permanent Qustiones by Emperor Augustus

Tolerably complete criminal law Converted WRONGS to CRIMES But did not remove civil remedies
Except for crimina extraordinaria

REPUBLICAN ROME which served incompetent in enforcing criminal justice having a collective community to avenge wrongs IMPERIAL ROME which monopolized violence as a Sovereign representative of its people to punish crimes.