was the praetor's edict"legislation"in the true sense of the word?

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Request for Question Clarification by hlabadie-ga on 16 Dec 2003 07:31 PST

If you define "legislation", as you think that it applies to this
context, an Answer can be formulated, if you still want one.

hlabadie-ga

The Answer will depend upon what you consider to the the "true sense" of legislate.

Does legislate mean "to make law"? Praetors made law when they handed
down decsisions, issued edicts, etc., in the sense that they added to
the body of Roman case law.

Or does legislate mean strictly only "to pass leges" (plural of lex,
law, the root of legislate)? Only an Assembly could pass lex. At root,
edictum is not lex.

hlabadie-ga