Litigation in Roman Law

Most modern accounts of how the classical Romans sued each other tend to show the opponents willingly cooperating under the guidance of a magistrate, until their case was ready for trial. This view of relatively polite and orderly initiation of suits was based on tiny amounts of evidence. Metzger examines a flood of new evidence, painting a picture of litigation that is far less polite and far less orderly. He examines how the rules of procedure coped with the typical pretrial delays that the Roman system, and indeed any legal system, faces.

Most modern accounts of how the classical Romans sued each other tend to show the opponents willingly cooperating under the guidance of a magistrate, until their case was ready for trial. This view of relatively polite and orderly initiation of suits was based on tiny amounts of evidence. Metzger examines a flood of new evidence, painting a picture of litigation that is far less polite and far less orderly. He examines how the rules of procedure coped with the typical pretrial delays that the Roman system, and indeed any legal system, faces.

Ernest Metzger is a frequent writer on Roman law and legal history. He has taught at University College London and University of Aberdeen, where he is presently Senior Lecturer in Law. He was formerly a judicial clerk to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas.