Annotated Constitution - III. Comitia

Latest revision as of 06:57, 25 June 2024

A. The comitia curiata (Assembly of Curiae) shall be made up of thirty lictores curiati (lictors of the curia), appointed to their positions by the collegium pontificum (college of pontiffs). It shall be called to order by the Pontifex Maximus, and the collegium pontificum shall set the rules by which the comitia curiata shall operate internally. It shall have the following responsibilities:

1. To invest elected and appointed magistrates with Imperium (which is necessary to employ coercitio [the power to compel obedience to their edicts], interpret and execute law, and possess the honor of being preceded by lictors as a symbol of office), without right of refusal individually or as a body;

2. To witness the appointment of official priests and priestesses of the Religio Romana, adoptions, and the recording of wills.

3. To approve or reject the elevation of a plebeian family to the Ordo Patricius;

4. To approve or reject an adoption that elevates a plebeian to the Ordo Patricius or lowers a patrician to the Ordo Plebeius;

5. To approve or reject an application from a patrician who wishes to renounce his status and become a member of the plebeian order.

B. The Comitia Centuriata (Assembly of Centuries) shall be made up of all of the citizens, grouped into their respective centuries. While it shall be called to order by either a consul or a praetor, only the comitia centuriata shall pass laws governing the rules by which it shall operate internally. It shall have the following powers:

• Lex Cornelia de ratione comitiorum centuriatorum (Nova Roma)

1. To enact laws binding upon the entire citizenry;

2. To elect the consuls, praetors, and censors;

3. To try legal cases in which the defendant is subject to permanent removal of citizenship.

C. The Comitia Plebis Tributa (Assembly of the Plebeians) shall be made up of all non-patrician citizens, grouped into their respective tribes. While it shall be called to order by a tribune of the plebs, only the comitia plebis tributa shall pass laws governing the rules by which it shall operate internally. It shall have the following powers:

• Lex Pompeia de ratione comitiorum plebis tributorum (Nova Roma)

1. To enact plebiscites with the force of law, binding upon the entire citizenry;

2. To elect the plebeian aediles and tribunes of the plebs;

3. To try legal cases solely involving members of the plebeian order that do not involve permanent removal of citizenship.

D. The Comitia Populi Tributa (Assembly of the People) shall be made up of all citizens, grouped into their respective tribes. While it shall be called to order by either a consul or a praetor, only the comitia populi tributa shall pass laws governing the rules by which it shall operate internally. It shall have the following powers:

• Lex Cornelia de ratione comitiorum populi tributorum (Nova Roma)

1. To enact laws binding upon the entire citizenry;

2. To elect the quaestors and curule aediles;

3. To try legal cases that do not involve permanent removal of citizenship.