Note 2950 — Chapter XVIII · THE COMPOSITION AND PRESERVATION OF STATUTES, COMITIAL PROCEDURE, AND COMITIAL DAYS
Reading edition
Macrob. Somn. Scip. ii. 17. 13. A lex minusquam perfecta prescribes a penalty but allows the violating act to stand. The lex Furia testamentaria (p. 352), for instance, declares that the beneficiary of a legacy above the legal limit must pay fourfold, but does not rescind the legacy itself; Ulp. Reg. 1. A lex perfecta not only prescribes a penalty but nullifies a contravening act. These distinctions apply only to the civil law. Cf. Ulp. l. c.; Karlowa, Röm. Rechtsgesch. i. 428; Poste, Gaius, 566. Other terms connected with the enactment, repeal, and alteration of laws are explained by Ulp. Reg. 3: “Lex est rogatur, id est fertur, aut abrogatur, id est prior lex tollitur, aut derogatur, id est pars primae legis tollitur, aut subrogatur, id est adiicitur aliquid primae legi, aut obrogatur, id est mutatur aliquid ex prima lege.” The classification of laws as curiate, centuriate, and tribal according to the form of the comitia, and as consular, tribunician, etc. according to the office of the lator does not need explanation.