JURI´DICI
JURI´DICI With a view of making the administration
of justice more directly dependent on the emperor, Hadrian appointed over
Italy four magistrates of consular rank (
consulares) who had both criminal and civil jurisdiction (Spart.
Hadr. 22; Capitolin.
Ant. Pi. 2,
M.
Ant. Phil. 11; Appian,
App. BC
1.38). This institution of Hadrian did not long survive him, but M.
Aurelius imitated it by appointing a number of imperial officials of
praetorian rank with the title of juridici, who were to perform certain
administrative functions outside Rome--the
urbica
dioecesis. (
M. Ant. Phil. l.c. “datis
juridicis Italiae consuluit ad id exemplum, quo Hadrianus consulares
viros reddere jura praeceperat;”
C. I. L. 5.1874.) These juridici had jurisdiction in respect
of
fideicommissa (
Dig.
40,
5,
41.5), and
in disputes concerning the office of curialis [CURIALIS; they also nominated guardians (
Vat. fr. 205,
232, 241); and they may have been competent to decide some other civil
causes; but they do not appear to have had any criminal jurisdiction. They
probably exercised other besides judicial functions connected with the
administration of justice. The jurisdiction of juridici was not taken from
that of the municipal magistrates, but from that of the Roman courts, which
continued, however, to decide matters of importance. Each juridicus had a
particular district specially assigned to him ( “regiones quae sunt
sub juridicis” : cf. Marquardt,
Staatsverw. 1.74,
&c.). The office of juridicus lasted till about the middle of the
third century.
An imperial official who exercised the higher jurisdiction in Egypt was
called
juridicus, whence the title of the
Italian
juridici is derived
[p. 1.1037](Walter,
Rechtsgesch. 36, n. 24; Orelli-Henzen,
6488).
(The information contained in this article is principally taken from Mommsen,
Staatsrecht, ii.2 1038 ff.; cf.
Bethmann-Hollweg,
Der römische Civilprocess,
§ 66; Becker-Marquardt,
Röm. Alterth.
3.1.56, &c.)
[
E.A.W]
