Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

, ''abrogatio'' is in general an

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

of a law or legal procedure. ''Abrogatio'' or annulment of a citizen's rights was a necessary preliminary before he was sent into exile.

''Abrogatio legis''

''Abrogatio legis'' was the total repeal of a law. For example, the ''

Lex Canuleia The (‘Gaius Canuleius, Canuleian law’), or , was a law of the Roman Republic, passed in the year 445 BC, restoring the right of (marriage) between patrician (ancient Rome), patricians and plebs, plebeians. Canuleius' first rogation Five year ...

'' was an abrogation of the earlier law of the

Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables () was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornbl ...

that prohibited

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

between a patrician and a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

. A partial repeal of a law was either ''derogatio'' or ''exrogatio legis''. Originally, the '' comitia centuriata'' ("centuriate assembly") had to abrogate a law. When

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

became

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

, all the laws passed by his opponents (the ''

populares ''Optimates'' (, ; Latin for "best ones"; ) and ''populares'' (; Latin for "supporters of the people"; ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated ...

'') were abrogated.

''Abrogatio imperii''

''Abrogatio imperii'' was the annulment of a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

's ''

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' (power or right to command). It was essentially the removal of a magistrate from office, and was "extremely rare". Originally, the ''abrogatio imperii'' would have required the tribal assembly to pass a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

, as was the case when a magistrate's ''imperium'' was extended past his elected term ''(

prorogatio In ancient Rome, a promagistrate () was a person who was granted the power via '' prorogation'' to act in place of an ordinary magistrate in the field. This was normally ''pro consule'' or ''pro praetore'', that is, in place of a consul or praet ...

)''. ''Abrogatio'' was a preliminary step to prosecuting a magistrate, who was immune to prosecution during his term in office, and was usually initiated by a

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the pow ...

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

records three ''abrogationes'' from 217 to 204 BC, during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. Each case was brought by a tribune against a magistrate whose strategy in the field had met with objections at Rome, even though no military defeats or setbacks resulted. Personal rivalries seem to have among the motives. In 217, the tribune Marcus Metilius threatened to abrogate the command of

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (), surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was Roman consul, consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed Roman dictator, dict ...

, due to the stalling tactics which earned him the nickname Cunctator ("the Delayer"). Political resistance from the senate presumably caused Metilius to back down. In 209, the tribune Publicius Bibulus proposed the abrogation of the command held by

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

, who had not led his troops out even though

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

was at the time moving freely about Italy. In 204, the elderly Fabius Maximus urged the tribunes to abrogate the command of Scipio on the ostensible grounds that he had left his assigned province of Sicily without authorization from the senate; in actuality, his intention seems to have been to take advantage of any damage to Scipio's reputation from his association with the disreputable Pleminius, with the goal of thwarting Scipio's overall strategy of invading

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in order to lure Hannibal out of Italy. None of these ''adrogationes'' succeeded.Rachel Feig Vishnia, ''State Society and Popular Leaders in Mid-Republican Rome 241-167 B.C.'' (Routledge, 1996), pp. 82–85, citing Livy 22.25.10 on Fabius Maximus; Livy 27.21.21.4 and 22.10–11 and

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Marcellus'' 27 on Claudius Marcellus; and Livy 22.25.10 on Scipio.

References

{{italic title Roman law