Corpus Juris Civilis

Examples of Corpus Juris Civilis in the following topics:

• The Justinian Code

  • Justinian I achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law that was compiled in what is known today as the Corpus juris civilis.
  • The total of Justinian's legislature is known today as the Corpus juris civilis.
  • As opposed to the rest of the corpus, the Novellae appeared in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Empire.
  • The provisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis also influenced the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church: it was said that ecclesia vivit lege romana — the church lives by Roman law.
  • The Corpus continues to have a major influence on public international law.

• Intellectual Life

  • Secular law, or Roman law, was advanced greatly by the discovery of the Corpus Juris Civilis in the 11th century, and by 1100 Roman law was being taught at Bologna.

• Emergency Powers

  • The right of habeas corpus, under Article 1, Section 9, and the right to a grand jury for members of the National Guard when in actual service, under Fifth Amendment.
  • Habeas corpus was suspended on April 27, 1861 during the American Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in parts of Maryland and some midwestern states, including southern Indiana.

• The Rights of Englishmen

  • Among other important clauses, Magna Carta forbade the king from arbitrarily punishing any free man without due process of law and decreed that all nobles were to be judged by a jury of peers.
  • Several other civil rights that stemmed from Magna Carta inspired the United States Bill of Rights, but remain unwritten legal precedents in Britain today, include the right to a trial by jury, a speedy trial for those accused of criminal activity, due process, habeus corpus, and protection from "unreasonable" or arbitrary searches, seizures, and punishments.