UDK: 347.79

Irina V. Khor’kova - Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department “Maritime Law and International Law”, Law Institute, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), Moscow, Russia

Abstract. The current paper has presented a brief historical review of the origin and development of maritime legislation in Ancient Rome, considered the geopolitical and historical prerequisites for the formation of the Roman fleet, and the features of the development of international maritime trade during the period of Roman hegemony. The main attention has been paid to historical sources containing the norms of Roman maritime legislation, namely the Senate law on the prosecution of pirates, the Digests of Justinian. The current paper has provided the quotes from ancient authors who were contemporaries of the formation of the Roman legislative base, namely Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, Polybius, Petronius Arbiter. The source base of the study is not limited to narrative references. There have been analyzed the data from underwater archeology, cartography, and historical reconstruction. The paper has examined the features of Roman jurisdiction at sea, and provides opinions of famous Roman lawyers Gaius, Labeo, Paul, Ulpian, Volusius Metianus regarding the ownership of maritime territories. There has been given a detailed textual analysis of the paragraphs and titles of the fourteenth book of the “Digest” and concluded that Roman jurisprudence developed a clear legal regulation related to the ownership of a ship, its charter, the duties of the owner, captain, lessee and passengers, as well as the property on board the ship. The current study has concluded that Roman maritime law made a significant contribution to the global legal system regulating cargo transportation and maritime trade.

Keywords: Roman maritime law; Ancient Rome; Roman jurisprudence; Roman lawyers; Roman maritime trade; Digests.

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Khor’kova I.V. Roman Maritime Law (a brief historical review) // Transport law and security. 2025; (2(54)):175―184.