Kobiety jako oskarżycielki w rzymskich postępowaniach karnych?

Abstract

The article focuses on the issue of the legal legitimation of Roman women to bring a formal accusation in cases other than their own or regarding — to some extent — their relatives, which is still debatable in Roman law literature. The analysis concerns mostly crimen maiestatis and crimen annonae trials, regarding which sources seem to be particularly disputable. Despite ambivalent conclusions drawn on their basis by various authors, it occurs that women could act as both informers and formal accusers in those cases of a very specific nature, which constituted a serious departure from general rules concerning their legitimation, but was rooted in the utilitas publica concept.