Communication and publication of the law in Rome

Abstract

In this article various ways and means of communication and publication of the law (Roman roads, the Roman state post, rescripta and codification) are discussed in order to determine in how far it contributed towards the development of a shared law in the Roman Empire. My research led me to conclude that all of the above-mentioned forms of communication contributed largely towards a shared or communal law. Although the extension of the Roman legal system was not planned, local law in the various parts of the Roman Empire was influenced by Roman law. One may say that there was a slow dispersal of Roman law, that local law gradually mutated and that it was replaced to larger or smaller extent. This was a logical and natural extension flowing forth from historical events and legal development.