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 p651  Judex Pedaneus

Article by George Long, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College
on p651 of

William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.:
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.

JUDEX PEDA′NEUS. The origin and meaning of this term seem to be unknown. It is not used by the classical Roman writers. The judices to whom the praetor or praeses referred a matter in litigation with the usual instructions, were sometimes called Pedanei (Theophil. IV.15; Cod. 3 tit. 3). Subsequently the praeses, who was now sometimes designated Judex Ordinarius or Judex simply (Cod. Theod. 1 tit. 7), decided most matters without the intervention of a Judex; but still he was empowered to appoint a permanent body of judices for the decision of less important matters, and these also were called Judices Pedanei, "hoc est qui negotia humiliora disceptent" (Cod. 3 tit. 3 s5).º The proceedings before this new kind of Judices Pedanei were the same as before the praeses. Some modern writers are of opinion that these new pedanei judices did not form a permanent court, but only decided on matters which were referred to them by a superior authority (Cod. 3 tit. 3). The reason of these judices receiving a distinctive name is conjectured to be this, that the magistrate himself was now generally called Judex. The Greek translation of Pedaneus is χαμαιδικαστής (Theophil. IV.15 pr.).

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