Also known as: potestates · power · authority
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An authority or power such as the power of a magistrate to enforce the law or the authority of an owner over a slave. Patria potestas denotes the authority held by the male head of a family over legitimate and adopted children as well as further descendants in the male line unless emancipated.
Aedile Marcus Varro discovered merchants violating market edicts in the Forum. He ordered their stalls closed and imposed fines under his magisterial authority. The praetor later confirmed that Varro had acted within his potestas to enforce the law.
Lucius Cornelius, paterfamilias, learned that his adult son had contracted a debt without consent. He ordered the son to cancel the agreement and confined him to the household. The court upheld Cornelius's potestas over the son's legal acts.
Titus Flavius purchased a new household slave named Davus. When Davus attempted to leave the estate without permission, Flavius reclaimed him. The praetor recognized Flavius's potestas over the slave's movements and labor.
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Gaius Julius, head of a three-generation household, decided to sell property acquired by his grandson. The grandson protested that he had earned the funds himself. The court held that Gaius's potestas extended to the grandson's acquisitions until emancipation.
Publius Scipio formally adopted his nephew Marcus under the proper ceremonies. Thereafter Scipio exercised full control over Marcus's contracts and marriages. The censors recorded that Scipio now held potestas over the adopted son.
After repeated disputes, Quintus Aemilius brought his son before the praetor for formal emancipation. The ceremony released the son from all further paternal control. The court declared that Quintus's potestas over the son had ended.
Potestas refers to authority or power such as the power of a magistrate to enforce the law or the authority of an owner over a slave. Patria potestas specifically denotes the authority held by the male head of a family over legitimate and adopted children as well as further descendants in the male line unless emancipated.
The Roman concept of potestas supplies the historical root for later doctrines of legal power including agency authority and governmental powers. Modern rules on foreclosure, voting rights, and professional conduct all reflect limits on or grants of potestas in specific contexts.
The broad patria potestas of early Roman law has evolved into modern parental rights and duties focused on support and maintenance rather than absolute control. Contemporary family law recognizes parental authority but subjects it to state regulation and the best interests of the child.
…mandamus, in cases warranted by the principles and usages of law, to any courts appointed, or persons holding office, under the authority of the United States.' This court has entertained jurisdiction on a mandamus in one case and on a prohibition in another. In none of these cases was the power of this court to issue a…