It's no secret that the modern political and legal systems of many European states are built like the ancient Roman one. Roman law became the basis of the Roman legislative base - the so-called unprecedented law, which is used by a good half of modern powers, including Russia. This legal system has the following form: first a normative act, then a precedent. That is, an act that is not described in the legislative framework of the state is not a crime. And in general, Ancient Rome had a huge impact on our world. Take the same Latin, the actual variations of which are many Western European languages. However, today we will talk about a slightly different phenomenon that has come to us from Antiquity in a slightly modified form. And his name is the people's tribune. Let's talk about this in more detail.
What is a People's Tribune?
Despite the fact that at first the kings ruled Rome, then the consuls - the actual dictators, and then the system completely changed to imperial, in the political system of the AncientRome has always had an element of democracy.
People's tribune is an elected position among the plebeians. He was engaged in the protection and patronage of the humiliated and offended. The Latin word that the people's tribune called his power is sacrosancta potestas, which means "power received by spiritual sanctification."
The history of this position goes back to the ancient conflict between the patricians - the descendants of the first Roman kings - and the plebeians, that is, ordinary inhabitants of Rome. Initially, only patricians were represented in the Senate, while the plebeians did not have the opportunity to be elected there and, in fact, were in the position of the lower class. However, despite legal restrictions, some people from the common people were able to get rich so much that they overshadowed (in terms of property) noblemen, thereby increasing their influence in aristocratic circles. Also, sometimes plebeian riots broke out in Rome, which led not only to mass casu alties, but also to temporary economic decline due to the devastation caused during the uprising.
How did the people's tribune appear in Rome?
In order to prevent constant bloodshed, under pressure from the plebeian community, the Senate was forced to establish the position of a people's tribune, elected by "the plebeians from the plebeians." This had a huge impact on the whole system, on the whole of ancient Rome. The people's tribune could veto the decisions of the Senate, which, in his opinion, infringed upon the plebeians, had the right to judge persons who offend the honor and dignity of ordinary people.people, and also enjoyed personal immunity. Thus, after some time, the forces of the plebeian community through such statesmen in the Senate lobbied for a decision to equalize the estates, but even after that the people's tribune did not cease to exist. He began to deal with the affairs of ordinary citizens: the poor, peasants, poor artisans, regardless of their origin. The Latin word for a popular tribune among his clients is patronum, which means "protector". Elections for this position were held in two stages: first, each curate comitia chose its candidate, and then the applicants were selected at the level of the tributary comitia.
Modern echoes of the social institution of people's tribunes
The principles by which the people's tribune worked are now embodied in the civil institution of human rights. For example, in many countries, including Russia, there is a commissioner in this area - an ombudsman, whose duties include protecting and monitoring the observance of human rights by the state. Thus, he does what the people's tribune did in his time. However, the powers of the modern ombudsman are significantly curtailed compared to the ancient Roman figure: he cannot veto, does not have immunity and does not have the right to initiate legislation. Its only function is to control state bodies and, in case of non-observance of human rights, to initiate legal proceedings, that is, the so-calledjudicial initiative. By law, the Ombudsman is not subordinate to any of the branches of government: neither the legislative, nor the executive, nor the judiciary.
We hope you learned a lot of new and interesting things, and this information was useful for you.
