The courts of justice in the city of Rome in the reports by Tacitus and Pliny the Younger (1st - 2nd centuries AD)

• Grant number: 16/24210-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Margarida Maria de Carvalho
• Grantee: Dominique Monge Rodrigues de Souza
• Supervisor: Leanne Bablitz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/07270-9 - Courts of justice in the city of Rome in reports of Tacitus and Pliny the Younger (I-II century A.D.), BP.DR

Abstract

During our studies as part of the Scientific Initiation and Masters Programs, both financed by FAPESP, we analyzed the defenses and performance of Pliny the Younger in the Senatorial Court and in the Centumviral Court, aiming at understanding this Roman senator's political career. A significant share of bibliography specialized in Roman Law separates the political-administrative context from the legal practices; such segmentation was not highlighted in our documentation. Such statement has pointed us the relevance of a study concerning the legal organization and, consequently, the courts of justice, linking them to the political-administrative context. This way, following our previous studies, our doctorate research aims at analyzing the organizations and jurisdictions of the courts of justice located in the city of Rome, through the following works: Letters and Panegyricus by Pliny the Younger, and Dialogue on Oratory, Histories and Annals by Tacitus. Our hypothesis is the existence of a connection between the political-administrative practices and the legal practices during the Principate. Different from what is proposed by a part of the bibliography on the topic, our proposal aims at understanding the relation between the political-administrative and the legal practices, going beyond the description of the legislation and the procedural law. In such case, the aim of our research internship at The University of British Columbia - Vancouver Campus, under the supervision of Dr. Leanne Bablitz is to deepen our knowledge about the organization, disposition, and jurisdiction of the courts of justice that were mapped during the previous stages of our doctorate studies. We believe such reflections are of paramount importance for the development of our current research project. (AU)