Cicero and the Defining of the Ius Civile

Abstract

This chapter argues that one of the less noticed conflicts of the late Roman Republic centred on who controlled ultimate legal authority, as exercised through its application in the courts. Such a conflict was possible because the written law was under pressure on two fronts. One was the contribution made by philosophical concepts, notably, but not exclusively, that of the (unwritten) ius naturae, based on Stoic ideas, along with new techniques of definition and the systematic arrangement of material that had a wide impact ranging from the structuring of forensic argument to the notional composition of law-codes. The other source of pressure was the exploitation of unwritten law by advocates in the lawcourts. While it is not at all clear how, or if, court judgments actually affected the content of the ius civile, Cicero maintained that iudices could make judgments on points of law, with wider implications.