The limits of legal pluralism in the Roman Empire

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The Roman Empire was legally pluralistic. But what exactly does this entail in concrete terms? With the growth in historical studies of legal pluralism in the Roman empire, some significant differences in approach have emerged. This paper tests and clarifies some of the limits in the current “legal pluralism”conceptual landscape, focussing on disputes and dispute resolution. It is argued that a clearer distinction should be drawn between “normative” and “jurisdictional” pluralism, though both approaches still raise certain conceptual problems. The place of disputes within the family within this wider institutional picture is then taken as a case study in the final part of the paper, and it is suggested that while family disputes can evidence “legal pluralism” in the “norms” sense, there is less to suggest that there were a multitude of officially sanctioned legal fora available for resolving family disputes. As a result, many went beyond the law. This has wider implications for the study of legal pluralism in antiquity and the problem of integrating Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) into the pluralistic picture.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)110-129
JournalThe Journal of Legal History
Volume40
Issue number2
Early online date6 Jun 2019
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 6 Jun 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The limits of legal pluralism in the Roman Empire'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this