罗马法(Roman law)

罗马共和国与罗马帝国的法律。罗马法对大多数西方文明的发展都有影响。它涵盖了继承权益、义务关系（包括契约）、财产（包括奴隶）和个人权益。大多数法律都是在主要由贵族家族主导的议会上通过的，虽然行政官的裁定也很重要。後来的皇帝们都越过这些形式而发布他们自己的政令。法官的解释也在法律上占有份量。尽管作了各种尝试来收集和简化现有的法律（从十二铜表法开始），但至今最成功的是查士丁尼一世所做的努力，他的法典超越了所有以前的法律，成为罗马帝国的法律遗产。罗马的法律程序是现代民法国家中的程序基础。在共和国早期，原告必须请被告上法庭，或用武力迫使他出庭。然後由行政官在陪审员（judex）或杰出人士（门外汉）面前决定是否要继续审理该案件。陪审员倾听辩护律师的论点，并向证人提问；他可作出决定，但无权执行。在共和国後期，行政官和法院有了更大的权力：由法院发出传唤；只在一个行政官面前举行审判；并由法院负责判决的执行。

English version：

Roman law

Law of the Roman republic and empire. Roman law has influenced the development of law in most of Western civilization. It dealt with matters of succession (or inheritance), obligations (including contracts), property (including slaves), and persons. Most laws were passed by assemblies dominated by the patrician families, though the rulings of magistrates were also important. Later emperors bypassed these forms and issued their own decrees. The interpretations of jurists also came to have the weight of law. Though various attempts were made to gather and simplify existing laws (beginning with the Twelve Tables), by far the most successful effort was that of Justinian I, whose code superseded all previous laws and formed the Roman Empire's legal legacy. Roman legal procedure is the basis for modern procedure in civil-law countries. In the early Republic, the plaintiff was required to call the defendant to court or bring him by force. A magistrate then decided whether the case should go before a judex, or prominent layman. The judex heard advocates give arguments and question witnesses; he made a decision but had no power to execute it. In the later Republic, much greater power was placed in the hands of the magistrates and courts: the summons was issued by the court, the trial was held only before a magistrate, and the court became responsible for the execution of the sentence.