Praetor: Encyclopedia II - Praetor - Additional Praetors and their Duties

Praetor - Additional Praetors and their Duties

When the territories of the state were extended beyond the limits of Italy, new praetors were made. Thus two praetors were created in 227 BC, for the administration of Sicily and Sardinia, and two more were added when the two Spanish provinces were formed in 197 BC. When there were six praetors, two stayed in the city, and the other four went abroad. The Senate determined their provinces, which were distributed among them by lot. After the discharge of his judicial functions in the city, a Praetor often had the administration of a province with the title of Propraetor, and sometimes with the title of Proconsul. Lucius Cornelius Sulla increased the number of Praetors to eight, which Julius Caesar raised successively to ten, then twelve, then fourteen, and finally to sixteen. Augustus after several changes fixed the number at twelve. Under Tiberius there were sixteen. Two praetors were appointed by Claudius for matters relating to Fideicommissa, when the business in that department of the law had become considerable, but Titus reduced the number to one; and Nerva added a Praetor for the decision of matters between the Fiscus and individuals.

Marcus Aurelius, according to Capitolinus (M. Ant. c10), appointed a Praetor for matters relating to tutela, which must have taken place after Pomponius wrote. [PANDECTAE.] The main duties of the Praetors were judicial, and it appears that it was found necessary from time to time to increase their number, and to assign to them special departments of the administration of justice.

Sometimes, extraordinary duties were imposed on them, as in the case of the Praetor Peregrinus (144 BC) who was commissioned by a Senatus consultum to look after the repair of certain aqueducts and to prevent the improper use of the water.

Both the Praetor Urbanus and the Praetor Peregrinus had the Jus Edicendi, and their functions in this respect do not appear to have been limited on the establishment of the imperial power, though it must have been gradually restricted as the practice of Imperial Constitutions and Rescripts became common. The limits of these two praetors' administration was expressed by the term Urbanae Provinciae.

Praetor - Judicial Functions

The chief judicial functions of the Praetor in civil matters consisted in giving a judex. It was only in the case of Interdicts, that he decided in a summary way. Proceedings before the praetor were technically said to be in jure.

Praetor - Criminal Trials

The Praetors also presided at trials of criminal matters. These were the Quaestiones perpetuae, or the trials for Repetundae, Ambitus, Majestas, and Peculatus, which, when there were six praetors, were assigned to four out of the number. Sulla added to these Quaestiones those of Falsum, De Sicariis et Veneficis, and De Parricidis, and for this purpose he added two or according to some accounts four praetors, for the accounts of Pomponius and of other writers do not agree on this point. On these occasions the Praetor presided, but a body of judices determined by a majority of votes the condemnation or acquittal of the accused.

The Praetor when he administered justice sat on a sella Curulis in a Tribunal, which was that part of the Court which was appropriated to the Praetor and his assessors and friends, and is opposed to the Subsellia, or part occupied by the Judices, and others who were present. But the Praetor could do many ministerial acts out of court, or as it was expressed e plano, or ex aequo loco, which terms are opposed to e tribunali or ex superiore loco: for instance, he could in certain cases give validity to the act of manumission when he was out-of-doors, as on his road to the bath or to the theatre.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Additional Praetors and their Duties", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki