The praetor was a magistrate of the Roman Empire.
Praetor is a term that was used in the Roman Empire to name a magistrate located, in the hierarchical scale of public administration, below the consul . The praetors were in charge of developing injunctions (to maintain harmony in relations between private parties), organizing the first stages of a trial and carrying out other judicial functions.
The position of praetor changed throughout history . In 366 BC the position as it is understood today was created to appoint people who were responsible for the administration of justice. As the Roman Empire annexed territories, more praetors were appointed. Starting in 337 BC , plebeians also had the possibility of becoming praetors.
History of the Praetors
Previously, however, generals were known as praetors. In this way, the praetors fulfilled important functions in times of war. In times of peace, these same praetors served in courts and interpreted the laws . Little by little, the function of the praetor began to become more political and less military.
The consuls, appointed by the Centuride Comicio , were responsible for the election of the praetors. The requirements varied, reaching the point where a person, to be qualified to serve as praetor, had to have previously served as aedile .
Once appointed praetor, the individual became a magistrate authorized to administer justice and to replace the consul when he was not in Rome . The main function of the praetor, in short, was to ensure compliance with Roman laws.
The functions of the praetor changed over time.
The edicts
The Roman praetor had to promulgate an edict that consisted of all the norms to which he undertook to abide throughout the year of his mandate in his jurisdictional function. In this way, the praetor made the law evolve, first with an adaptation and then with an expansion of the ius civile (the set of rules that, in the law of Rome, served to control the relationships between its citizens).
The edict was a mandate ordinance and had to be promulgated every year, although it did not fall into the category of law . It is important to note that the praetors did not act in a disconnected manner with respect to their predecessors, although they were not limited by their actions either.
During its promulgation , the praetor assured that he would offer the necessary protection to individuals with all the means at his disposal, whether exceptions or actions. The edict always sought to adapt to the most relevant needs of society, and distinguished between the following two types:
- Edictum perpetuum governed for one year and its publication took place at the beginning of the praetor's mandate. It was divided, in turn, into edictum traslactium (it was made up of certain norms of the former praetors) and pars nova (the part created by the current praetor),
- Edictum repentinum covered everything related to unforeseen regulations.
At first, there was no legal link between the praetor and his edict, but this changed after the law called Cornelia de edictis praetorum of the year 67 BC. C. The actions of the praetor were monitored by public opinion and any modification that did not arise to satisfy a true need was considered a serious offense to the general interest.
In the edict the praetor promised the following means:
- Of a procedural nature : exceptions and actions.
- Legal protection : it was divided into stipulationes paretoriae (verbal contracts that the interested parties were obliged to carry out in their defense), restitutio in integrum (annulling the validity of businesses or acts even if they had been carried out according to the ius civile), interdicta (conditional orders issued by the praetor that were linked to a subsequent trial to be considered valid) and missiones in possessionem (the delivery of one or more things to another person so that they could dispose of them).