Novellae Constitutiones

The Novellae Constitutiones (new constitutions, Greek: ĪĪµĪ±ĻĪ±ĪÆ), or Justinian's Novels, are one of the four major units of Roman law created by Roman Emperor Justinian I in the course of his long reign (AD 527-565). The other three pieces are: the Code, the Digest, and the Institutes. Together, the four parts are known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. The Novels are laws enacted after 534, when he promulgated the second edition of the Code.[1]

Contents

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History

Justinianā€™s first Code, issued in 529, compiled and harmonized the imperial enactments (constitutions, or constitutions) of previous emperors.[2] After its promulgation, only the Code, and not the prior imperial legislation, could be cited as law. However, in 530 and 531, Justinian issued the quinquaginta decisiones (fifty decisions) that resolved differences among the writings of classical jurists, and he continued to issue other new laws as well.[3] This meant the Code could no longer be the sole, unified source of imperial legislation. Hence, in 534 Justinian issued the Constitutio cordi nobis,[4] creating a second edition of the Code (Codex repetitae praelectionis). This edition integrated his new legislation into the imperial enactments in the first edition and superseded it.

Justinian continued to legislate after he created the second edition of the Code. Thus, in his pragmatic sanction of 554 (Sanctio pragmatica pro petitione Vigilii),[5] he foresaw that he would need to maintain a collection of these new constitutions modifying the Code (novellae constitutions, quae post nostri codicis confectionem). This he did in the form of an archive called the Liber legum or Libri legum.[6]

Timeline

Justinian never made an official manuscript compilation of the new laws. Private persons filled this void by making unofficial collections in several forms. The following timeline provides a succinct description of these collections and explains how they were transmitted through the centuries.[7]

References

  1. ^ See generally, A. Arthur Schiller, Roman Law: Mechanisms of Development, Ā§Ā§ 12-16 at 29-40 (1978). For a detailed history of the Novels, see Timothy Kearley, "The Creation and Transmission of Justinian's Novels," in available at [1].
  2. ^ See Constitutio haec quae necessario, or ā€œConcerning the Establishment of a New Codeā€ (Feb. 13, 528), translated by Justice Fred Blume in the ā€œAnnotated Justinian Code,ā€ available at [2] and Constitutio summa rei publicae, or ā€œConcerning the Confirmation of the Code of Justinian,ā€ id.
  3. ^ See Tony Honore, Tribonian 124-222 (1978).
  4. ^ ā€œConcerning the Amendments of the Code of Our Lord Justinian, and the Second Edition of the Sameā€ (November 16, 534), translated by Justice Fred Blume in the ā€œAnnotated Justinian Codeā€ at [3].
  5. ^ "That the Laws of the Emperor Shall be Extended into his Provincesā€ (August 13, 554), available at [4].
  6. ^ See Pierre Noailles, 1 Les Collections de Novelles de lā€™Empereur Justinian 31-58 (1912).
  7. ^ For a more detailed examination of the Novels and their transmission, see Timothy Kearley, The Creation and Transmission of Justinianā€™s Novels (2010) at [5].
  8. ^ Detlef Liebs, Die Jurisprudenz im SpƤtanitken Italien 220-223, 264-265 (1987).
  9. ^ Charles M. Radding & Antonio Ciaralli, The Corpus Iuris Civilis in the Middle Ages: Manuscripts and Transmissions from the Sixth Century to the Juristic Revival 40 (2007).
  10. ^ Id. At 35-36 and Schiller, supra note 1, Ā§ 16 at 39.
  11. ^ See generally, Schiller, supra note 1 Ā§ 16 at 40, and Wolfgang Kunkel, An Introduction to Roman Legal and Constitutional History 176 (J.M. Kelly trans. 2nd ed. 1973).
  12. ^ See generally, Noailles, supra note 6 at 183-198.
  13. ^ Id. At 181-183.
  14. ^ On the Basilica, see Kunkel, supra note 11 at 179-181.
  15. ^ See Schiller, supra note 1, Ā§ 12 at 29-30.
  16. ^ Volumen Parvum.
  17. ^ Novellarum Constitutionem Justiniane Quae Exstant ut Exstant Volumen.
  18. ^ Impp. Iustiniani, Iustini, Leonis Novellae Constitutiones. Muirhead, Historical Introduction to the Private Law of Rome 410 (1899) dates it 1557, and Wenger, Die Quellen des Romischen Rechts 678 (1953) gives 1556, but WorldCat bibliographic records show only 1558.
  19. ^ Codicis D.N. Justinianiā€¦
  20. ^ Das Corpus Juris Civilis (1831-39). Justice Fred Blume used this as an adjunct in his English translation of the Code and Novels.
  21. ^ Novellae et Reliquae, part of Kriegel et al., Corpus Juris Civiles (1840-43). Scott used a later edition of the Kriegel CIC (1872) for his translation in The Civil Law (1932, repr. 1973).
  22. ^ Authenticum Novellarum Constitutionum Iustiniani Versio Vulgata (1846-1851).
  23. ^ Iuliani Epitome Latina Novellarum Iustiniani.
  24. ^ Imperatoris Iustiniani Peretui Augusti Novellae Quae Vocuntur.
  25. ^ Corpus Iuris Civilis (1877-1895). This is the version Justice Blume employed in creating his translations of the Code and Novels. It has gone through several editions and reprintings, the most recent being 1993-2000. This version is accepted by scholars as the standard edition.
  26. ^ Scott's translation The Civil Law is available at http://www.constitution.org/sps/sps.htm.
  27. ^ For Blume's translation of these works see the Annotated Justinian Code web site available at http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/blume&justinian/default.asp. David J.D. Miller and Peter Sarris are preparing a new translation of the Novels for publication by the Cambridge University Press.

External links