ĒDICTUM

The Jus Edicendi , or power of making edicts, belonged to the higher magi stratus populi Romani , but it was principally exercised by the two praetors, the praetor urban us, and the praetor peregrin us, whose jurisdiction was exercised in the provinces by the praeses. The curule aediles likewise made many edicts; and tribunes, censors, and pontifices also promulgated edicts relating to the matters of their respective jurisdictions. The edict a were among the sources of Roman law. The edictum may be described generally as a rule promulgated by a magi stratus on entering on his office, which was done by writing it on an album and exhibiting it in a conspicuous place. As the office of a magi stratus was annual, the rules promulgated by a predece or were not binding on a succe or, but he might confirm or adopt the rules of his predece or, and introduce them into his own edict, and hence such adopted rules were called edictum ralatitium , or vet us , as opposed to edictum novum . A repentinum edictum was that rule which was made ( prout res incidit ) for the occasion. A perpetuum edictum was that rule which was made by the magi stratus on entering upon office, and which was intended to apply to all cases to which it was applicable during the year of his office: hence it was sometimes called also annua lex . Until it became the practice for magi stratus to adopt the edict a of their predece ors, the edict a could not form a body of permanent binding rules; but when this practice became common, the edict a ( edictum tralatitium ) soon constituted a large body of law, which was practically of as much importance as any other part of the law.