The oldest Roman sources of law that have survived are the laws issued by the Roman kings. One of the most significant laws of that time is considered to be the Code of Laws of twelve tables. Scientists attribute this historical document to the middle of the 5th century BC. e. At that time, Roman law was already clearly separated from religious dogmas.
In 367 BC e. Civil Tseks passed a law according to which such a position as praetor was first introduced . The praetor was elected annually, and the candidates for this position were mostly praetoric edicts. A person elected to the position of praetor could, to the extent necessary, supplement the sources of law and, at its discretion, recognize obsolete laws inadequate to the modern needs of society.
An expression such as “sources of Roman law” can also be used to designate sources of knowledge of the law of that time. Such sources include documents of a legal order, for example, an odification published by the emperor Justinian, as well as works by lawyers and especially the works of Roman historians: Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus, Titus Livius. Also of great interest to science are such sources of Roman law as the works of speakers, writers and philosophers of antiquity.
Important sources of study of Roman law are extant inscriptions on stone, wood and bronze (“Heraclea Table”), on the walls of buildings (inscriptions discovered during excavations of the city of Pompeii), etc. Starting from the second half of the XIX century. the found inscriptions began to be published in the publication “Corpus inscriptionum latinarum”, which combined and systematized the available historical documents. The sources of Roman law were carefully studied, and since Roman law formed the basis of civil law in many European countries, it is quite natural that its sources became an object of study for jurists of that time.
The most ancient source of law in Rome is considered to be a combination of legal customs and norms. The modern theory of law under the term "legal custom" refers to a rule of conduct that has been formed as a result of its long-term use and recognized by the state and society as a rule binding on all.
The above signs are also characteristic of the legal custom in ancient Rome. The famous Roman lawyer Julian spoke about the limitation of the application of a particular custom and the general tacit consent to its application.
The norms of Roman law included the traditions of ancestors; common practice; customs of priests; customs that have developed in the practice of magistrates. Customary law that existed in Rome during the imperial period is called the term "consuetude".
In Rome, customary law played a significant role in the regulation of public relations for a long period of time. Legal customs and norms were recognized by the state and society on a par with laws.
In addition to customary law in ancient times in Roman society, laws were applied as sources of law. Initially, such laws were various legislative acts that were traditionally adopted by the people's assemblies and approved by the Senate.
With the simultaneous coexistence of legal customs and laws in society, a logical question arises of how these sources of Roman law were related to each other?
There was no doubt among the inhabitants of Ancient Rome that any law could be repealed by legal custom. Lawyers of that time also believed that a long-standing legal practice could, if necessary, repeal the law.
The sources of private Roman law are carefully studied by modern historians, and their study has long taken the scale of a separate branch of science.