Lex Hortensia

The lex Hortensia, also sometimes referred to as the Hortensian law, was a law passed in Ancient Rome in 287 BC which made all resolutions passed by the Plebeian Council, known as plebiscita, binding on all citizens.[1] It was passed by the dictator Quintus Hortensius in a compromise to bring the plebeians back from their secession to the Janiculum.[1]

It was the final result of the long struggle between patricians and plebeians, where the plebeians would periodically secede from the city in protest (secessio plebis) when they felt they were deprived of their rights. The law contained similar stipulations of the two earlier laws, the lex Valeria-Horatia of 449 BC and lex Publilia of 339 BC.[2][3] Unlike the prior two laws, however, lex Hortensia eliminated the requirement that the Senate ratify, in the case of the lex Valeria-Horatia, or give its prior approval to, in the case of the lex Publilia, plebiscites before becoming binding on all citizens.[4] Its passage secured the end of the Conflict of the Orders, and secured theoretically equal political rights between patricians and plebeians.[5]

  1. ^ a b Lintott, Andrew (2003). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-19-926108-3.
  2. ^ Develin, R (1978). ""Provocatio" and Plebiscites. Early Roman Legislation and the Historical Tradition". Mnemosyne. 31 (1): 45–60. doi:10.1163/156852578X00256. JSTOR 4430760.
  3. ^ Abbott, Frank Frost (1963). A History and Descriptions of Roman Political Institutions (3 ed.). New York: Biblo and Tannen. p. 32.
  4. ^ Abbott 1963, p. 52.
  5. ^ Abbott 1963, p. 53.