In Roman law, ius singulare (Latin, "singular law") was a special law that applied to a certain class of persons, such as soldiers or minors, or to an individual, in contrast to ius commune civium Romanorum, the law in common to all Roman citizens.[1] In effect, ius singulare was "a technique for incorporating new rules without having to change the old ones."[2]

Ius singulare generally conferred an advantage to the group or individual singled out.[3] In early Rome, privilegium was a legal enactment that might disfavor an individual or group (the privilegiarii), but in the Imperial era privilegium came to mean "privilege" and was sometimes used as a synonym of ius singulare.[4]

As an example, military campaigning removed personnel from circumstances in the city of Rome that facilitated the procedures for drawing up a last will and testament. They were therefore exempt from the usual requirements, and wills written on the eve of battle could be held as valid.[citation needed]

A ius singulare was meant to advance the public interest as a matter of utility. It required deft jurisprudence that preserved the norms of ius commune so that the exception did not become the rule,[5] with a clear understanding that the ius singulare was contra rationem, contrary to standard legal reasoning and thus not precedent.[6] The principle of ius singulare was one of several techniques, among them a plethora of legal fictions, that enabled Roman law to evolve flexibly without overturning its authoritative texts or challenging the fundamental traditionalism of Roman society.[7]

References

  1. ^ Adolf Berger, s.v. ius singulare, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (American Philological Society, 1953, 1991), p. 533.
  2. ^ Jakob Fortunat Stagl, "Favor libertatis: Slaveholders as Freedom Fighters," in The Position of Roman Slaves: Social Realities and Legal Differences, Dependency and Slavery Studies 6 (De Gruyter, 2023), p. 223.
  3. ^ Berger, s.v. ius singulare, p. 533.
  4. ^ Berger, s.v. privilegium, p. 651.
  5. ^ Stagl, "Favor libertatis," p. 222.
  6. ^ Stagl, "Favor libertatis," pp. 222–223, citing Digest 1.3.15.
  7. ^ Stagl, "Favor libertatis," pp. 234–235.
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