In the days of the Roman Empire, the emperor was considered not only the ruler of the state, but also its supreme legal authority, fulfilling the multiple roles of supreme court, legislator, and admin
Legal primitivism was a complex phenomenon that combined the study of early European legal traditions with studies?of the legal customs of indigenous peoples. Lawyers and Savages: Ancient History and
European legal integration is often justified with reference to the inherent unity of European legal traditions that extend to ancient Rome. This book explores the invention of this tradition, tracing it to a group of legal scholars divided by the onslaught of Nazi terror and totalitarianism in Europe. As exiles in Britain and the US, its formulators worked to build bridges between the Continental and the Atlantic legal traditions, incorporating ideas such as rule of law, liberty and equality to the European heritage. Others joined the Nazi revolution, which promoted its own idea of European unity. At the end of World War Two, natural law and human rights were incorporated into the European project. The resulting narrative of Europe, one that outlined human rights, rule of law and equality, became consequently a unifying factor during the Cold War as the self-definition against the challenge of communism.
"Lawyers and Savages explores the rise and fall of legal primitivism, and its connection to the colonial encounter. Nineteenth century legal anthropology - and with it the idea of "primitive law" - wa
Roman law is widely considered to be the foundation of European legal culture and an inherent source of unity within European law. Roman Law and the Idea of Europe explores the emergence of this idea
The Handbook is intended to survey the landscape of contemporary research and chart principal directions of future inquiry. Its aim is to bring to bear upon Roman legal study the full range of intelle
