the purpose of the twelve tables in rome was legal system.
the purpose of the twelve tables in rome was legal system.
what was the purpose of the twelve tables in rome?
legal system
twelve tables









































the law of the twelve tables ( or "duodecim tabulae") was the legislation that stood at the foundation of roman law. the tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.
twelve tables
featured within the twelve tables are five rules about how to handle debtors and creditors. these rules show how the ancient romans maintained peace with financial policy. in his article "development of the roman law of debt security," donald e. phillipson states the twelve tables were, “a set of statutes known as the twelve tables that was passed by an early assembly served as the foundation of the roman private law. the twelve tables were enacted in the mid-fifth century b.c. as the result of a conflict among social classes in ancient rome.” (pp. 1231–1232). phillipson also describes the leniency of the relationship between debtor and creditor on how it was changed and arranged in the 5th century bc and how roman law surrounding it was tweaked within the twelve tables that initially drew out the legal boundaries surrounding debt. specially discussing the influence of creditors rights, phillipson states, “in the fifth century b.c. only movables were pledged under pignus, although any res in which bonitary ownership was held was capable of being pledged. however, by the late republic, land and buildings were increasingly pledged in pignus arrangements. this increased usage paralleled the expansion of creditors' rights with respect to the pledged property. the right of possession and seizure (jus possidendi) and the right of foreclosure and sale (jus distrahendi) were probably the most important of the developing creditors' rights. these increased creditors' rights also encouraged and contributed to the expansion of the types of res in which bonitary ownership, and thus pignus arrangements, were possible. for example, the use of pignus expanded to include usufructs, rustic servitudes, rights of way, and even pledges themselves by the second century a.d.” (p. 1239).
twelve tables