engleski

Roman Boundary Stones in Croatia: Legal Content and its Forms in Acts of Dispute Resolution

The value of Roman boundary stones in Croatia can be observed from several points of view. They are not abstract standards of behavior or hypothetical legal rules separated from the legal reality. Their origin and context of existence emerge from actual legal environment on the territory of Dalmatia in the Julio-Claudian period. All inscriptions on boundary stones are products of the 1st century AD legal practice, in which the main goals were to supress disputes as possible obstacles to Roman rule. The resolution of such disputes enabled full administrative incorporation of Dalmatia into the Roman system of provincial government. It enabled the realization of the Roman concept which encouraged provincial administrative units to exist and function after the model of the ones in the Roman Italy. Resolution of the disputes, especially of those that existed previously and those that were perceived as traditional, eliminated the animosity towards legal and factual romanization. Roman boundary stones in Dalmatia are unique records of arbitral dispute resolution with interventions by public authorities. In the field of law they are valuable records of the language of boundary settlements. The technical terms of arbitral dispute resolution indicate that the Romans strictly followed the principles of legality even when they wanted to end disputes among remote tribal communities who did not fully conform to the Roman supremacy. The rough form of boundary stones and their brief inscriptions do not reveal all the details of the arbitral proceedings. Their purpose was to record only the essential procedural elements and decisive fixtures which would be of practical use to the member of communities and to the third persons who would come in contact with this territory. From this aspect, the Dalmatian boundary stones are unique records on how the legal substance became effectual through its specific form.

Arbitration, administrative arbitration, Roman law, boundray stones, arbitral awards

nije evidentirano