Repetundārum Crimen
(from
repetundae pecuniae, “money which is ordered to be
restored”). The name given by the Romans to the charge brought against officials for
extorting money from Roman subjects or allies. Such charges were at first brought before the
Senate, which heard the case itself, or else passed it on to a commission, or, again, caused
it to be brought before the Comitia by the tribunes. At last, in B.C. 149, a standing court of
justice (see
Quaestio perpetua), in fact, the first
in Rome, was instituted by the Lex Calpurnia, containing more precise definitions of acts
liable to punishment, with forms of legal procedure, and determining the amount of the
penalty. The increasing inclination of the officials to use the administration of the
provinces as means of enriching themselves at the expense of the provincials led to repeated
legislation with a view to increasing the penalty. The last law on the subject was Caesar's
Lex Iulia, which was the basis of the procedure in such cases under the Empire. During that
period, in consequence of the improved condition of provincial government, extortion on the
part of officials became much rarer. Such extortion was generally punished by a fine of four
times the amount extorted. It was also attended with a certain degree of disgrace (
infamia), even if a still more severe punishment were not
added for other offences committed at the same time and included in the indictment, e.g. the
offence of
laesa maiestas.
