Chapter 6. Law and Legal Systems

This chapter outlines what is known about the institutions and laws of the ancient Italic peoples. Using both autochthonous documents (relatively recent and not always easy to read) and the indirect testimony of Latin and Greek authors (which is somewhat unreliable), it attempts to outline the basic characteristics of the Italic legal systems, taking into account their respective limitations. The founding structures of the juridical community (the populus, the gentes, and the principes/magistratus) and the scope of the operation of both private and public norms are discussed. The legal relations between the various communities of pre-Roman Italy are described in detail, with an emphasis on international law.