Roman Constitution of 263 (Abrittus)

Genesis
The Roman constituion of 263 emerged in the imperial crisis and established the Second Republic.

It was drafted by Comitia Constituentes (formed by the revolutionary Plebeian Councils and supplemented to differing degrees with representatives of other powerful groups) and passed by an empire-wide Collegium Constituens formed by delegates from the Comitia.

The social forces supporting and shaping this constitution were urban middle classes as well as moderate Christians and Jews, and in the later phase of the constituting process also moderate conservative elements of the Principate`s administration and leading families. Both ultra-conservative and radical revolutionary groups opposed it, and power-hungry local warlords trying to accrue power for themselves tried to ignore it and pursue their own goals, until the republican institutions were able to restore order. While radical revolutionary groups voted against the constitution, they nevertheless managed to impose several of their demands (e.g. equal vote and the abolition of slavery).

With regards to political philosophy, the constitution mirrors the supreme goal of preventing the concentration of power in the hands of one or a few, which had been a problem during the constant usurpations in the last decades of the Principate. It revives some elements of the first Roman Republic, but changes their characteristics profoundly, reflecting the empire`s change from an Italy-based expanding state with still existing tribal structures (in the first republic) to a large, stable, post-tribal and to some degree even post-ethnic empire, which needed a professional, well-functioning public service, military and law system.

Modern history has ascribed the great value attributed to the education of magistrates to Neoplatonist influences. This is debatable. Although Neoplatonists were actively involved in the Comitia and in the Collegium, their arguments (e.g. in favour of active and passive voting rights for women) did not find broader support. The high qualification thresholds for magistrates can also be explained as serving patrician interests, who feared "demagogic" and "ochlocratic" administrations which might trespass on their economic and social privileges.

Christian and Jewish ideas are mirrored mostly in the abolition of slavery and the principle of equal vote. Moderate Christians and Jews were happy that the new constitution would guarantee freedom of religion. Radical ideas like the abolition of the death penalty were excluded from the drafting process quite early.

Structure
The constitution has two major parts. In the first part, the political institutions are defined. In the second part, the competencies of empire, province and local levels are sorted out, citizens` rights are formulated and guiding principles are laid down.

Comitia Vicina
The new and fundamental institution of the Second Republic are the Comitia Vicina. After every census, each province is divided into vici by the Procensors, who should, as far as possible, aim for vicus continuity. Each vicus, regardless of whether it is part of a urbs or a conglomeration of villae rusticae, is to comprise between 3,000 and 7,000 people. All adult males in the vicus gather twice every month (on the Ides and Kalendes) in the Comitium Vicinum. The CV sort out issues of local infrastructure and collect funds for communal projects, they can expropriate against compensation and pass mild judgements for minor offenses.

If all vici in a diocese have agreed on delegating communal issues (like schooling) to the diocesan Vigintisexviri, they also send two representatives into that body.

All other elections also take places in the CV: Every three years, every CV sends one delegate to the Conventum Provincii and one elector to the Collegium Electorum, which elects the Senators that will represent the province in Rome.

Senate
In contrast to the old republic, all legislative power on the imperial level is concentrated solely in the Senate, which may no longer pass laws ex post festo. Senators are elected by Collegia Electorum every three years; to become a Senator, one must have completed military service and never been convicted of a felony. The Senate elects
 * the Emperor (Augustus) for life, who formally represents the empire in foreign relations and selects the diplomats, but is divested of "imperium". Emperors must be chosen from among former Senators or Magistrates and must have "excellent merits".

and the supreme imperial magistrates: In contrast to the first republic and to ensure professional government, the magistrates are handsomely paid, elected for three years and can be re-elected. Consuls must have achieved at least a Baccalaureus degree from an Academia Martiana, Praetors must have achieved the same in Law Studies, Censors require the same degree in Mathematics and aedils and quaestors are free to choose their degree, but must have one.
 * 2 Consuls (responsible for the military and with the right of own-motion legislative initiative in all domains)
 * 8 Praetors (functioning as Supreme Court and controlling legislation and jurisdiction)
 * 2 Censors (responsible for the empire`s treasury, its tax and customs administration, and the registration of citizens)
 * 2 Aedils (responsible for central policing and intelligence)
 * and a number of Quaestor pairs, each pair responsible for a branch of the public services.

The Senate declares war and peace, passes laws and the imperial budget, nullifies provincial policies which violate the constitution, and awards "merits" to outstanding citizens (initially mostly war heros and charitable donors of the public good, later also inventors, artists etc.).

Provinces
The provinces have gained substantial independence with the constitution of 263. They raise and keep much of the tax money and have sovereign decision rights in many domains, delineated in complex ways from the imperial level. They also structure their vici.

The legislative body of each province is the Conventum Provincii, whose members are elected every three years in the CV. The provincial magistrates are structured analogously to the imperial level and named proconsuls, propraetors, procensors, prodaedils and proquaestors. The propraetors also supervise a professionalised judicial system with provincial and diocesan iudices responsible for all criminal offenses beyond the most banal ones, and the prodaedils control both a police and later also an education system, whose local implementation is executed by subordinate magistrates at the diocesan level.

Individual rights
The constitution of 263 defines every person born on imperial territory, naturalised by the Comitium Vicinum or born as the child of a Roman citizen as a Roman citizen and declares eight rights pertaining to all citizens equally (life, liberty, corporal integrity, free movement and residence, fair trial, free expression, religious freedom, marriage) as well as six rights pertaining only to male citizens (property, free commerce, free choice of occupation, free choice of educatioon, free vote, freedom to form a political party or socio-economic organisation).

Evolution
The constitution of 263 was the foundation of Rome`s Republic for more than a milennium.

In every century, small amendments were passed (first by the Senate, later in plebiscites) to reform provincial organisation, redefine the domains of the magistrates, further professionalise and de-politicise the judicial system and, towards the end, extend the rights of women to a certain degree.

It was replaced by the constitution of 1330, which brought equal rights for men and women, eliminated the position of the Emperor altogether as well as the thresholds for magistrates and replaced the Comitia Vicina with individual voting rights and diocesan legislative councils.

Salvador79 (talk) 11:29, May 19, 2014 (UTC)

Abrittus