Roman law refers to the legal system that originated in ancient Rome and that later became the basis of law in Western Europe and in countries influenced by European legal codes. Origins Roman law had its origins, a long time before there was a Roman state, in family customs handed down from one generation to another and in judgments (leges regiae) of kings or cheiftains. By the time of the establishment of the Roman Republic (509 BC) a considerable amount of
this customary
law existed. Years of agitation ended with the appointment of a commission
.(twelve legal experts) that collected and published the oral customs in
Rome's first understandable code, The Twelve Tables (451-450 BC). These
mosstly dealt with problems related to property and to the procedures for
obtaining redress for wrongs. But unlike that of the republican magistrates
his power was lifelong, so that his edicts were effective for a considerable
time. Further, succeeding emperors usually observed the enactments of their
predecessors. The emporers relied on the advice of the Senate. The concurrence
of the Senate eventually became a matter of course; enactments by the emperors
became the only source of law. Traditionally, the study of Roman law is
divided into five parts: the laws of persons, of property, of succession,
of obligations, and of actions.