JURAMENTUM

5 definitions found across Law Mind sources

JURAMENTUMAuthored
The Law Mind • 932 words
Definition
A Latin term from the civil law meaning an oath — a solemn affirmation or denial of a matter, confirmed by invocation of a sacred thing or deity. In historical legal usage, juramentum encompasses the formal oath administered in judicial proceedings and broader ecclesiastical and common law contexts. The term appears in Law Mind sources primarily as a parent entry for a family of compound Latin oath-types, each serving a distinct procedural function.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): No standard entry; the term is not part of ordinary English vocabulary. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "An oath." Editorial note: Webster's treatment is technically accurate but strips away all procedural context. In legal sources, juramentum is rarely used in isolation; its significance lies almost entirely in the compound forms (juramentum calumniae, juramentum decisorium, etc.) that governed specific moments in civil and canon law litigation. A researcher encountering the bare term in a historical document should treat it as a pointer to a richer procedural framework, not merely a synonym for "oath."
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES JURAMENTUM CALUMNIAE — The oath of calumny. Imposed on both parties at the outset of litigation, and on their attorneys and proctors, requiring each to swear that the suit is brought or defended in good faith — not from malice, improper motive, or bad faith belief in the cause. Its function was to filter frivolous and vexatious litigation before trial commenced. Both Black's editions and Burrill treat this as the primary subtype warranting definition. JURAMENTUM DECISORIUM — The decisive oath. An oath submitted by one party to the other, by which the party to whom it is offered may resolve the dispute by swearing to the truth of the matter at issue. If the party swears, the suit is decided accordingly; if the party refuses, the opponent wins. A civil law mechanism with no direct common law equivalent. JURAMENTUM IN LITEM — An oath taken by a plaintiff to establish the value of the thing in controversy, typically used when the value was otherwise difficult to prove. Permitted in equity and civil law contexts; treated with caution because it placed quantification in the hands of the interested party. JURAMENTUM NECESSARIUM — A necessary or compulsory oath, imposed by the court rather than offered voluntarily by a party. JURAMENTUM VOLUNTARIUM — A voluntary oath, offered by one party to the other as a means of resolving a disputed fact.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers will encounter juramentum most often in two contexts: historical treatises on civil and canon law procedure, and early English common law sources that borrowed Latin oath terminology from the ecclesiastical courts. The term itself rarely appears in American or post-Reformation English caselaw, but its subtypes — particularly juramentum calumniae — surface in historical equity practice and in discussions of oath reform. The critical navigational point is that juramentum functions as a genus term. Searching Law Mind sources for juramentum alone will surface the parent entry and cross-references, but the procedural substance lives in the compound forms. Researchers studying early chancery practice, ecclesiastical court procedure, or the history of frivolous litigation doctrine should move directly to juramentum calumniae. Burrill's entry is the most substantive in the Law Mind corpus. It preserves the maxim juramentum est indivisibile — an oath is indivisible — meaning a court could not accept part of a sworn statement while rejecting the rest. This principle had real consequences in civil law pleading and is worth locating in full for any research touching on the admissibility or weight of party oaths in historical proceedings. There is also a corpus connection to the broader history of the oath requirement in common law courts. Before witness competency reforms in the nineteenth century, the oath was the gateway to testimonial capacity. Understanding juramentum in its civil law sense illuminates the conceptual foundation that common law courts were both inheriting and departing from.
Historical Dictionary Support
All three source dictionaries agree on the core meaning: juramentum is the civil law term for an oath. Black's first and second editions are nearly identical on juramentum calumniae and offer the most procedurally specific definition. Burrill goes further, providing the Latin maxim from Fleta (lib. 5, c. 22, § 1) and extending coverage to the indivisibility principle — juramentum est indivisibile, et non est admittendum in parte verum, et in parte falsum (an oath is indivisible, and it is not to be received as partly true and partly false). This maxim is absent from both Black's editions and represents the most distinctive contribution of Burrill's entry. What the historical dictionaries collectively underserve is the decisorium and in litem subtypes. Burrill acknowledges them; Black's does not develop them. Researchers needing full treatment of those forms should consult civil law treatises directly. None of the source dictionaries address the decline of juramentum-style oath procedures under nineteenth-century evidence reforms, which is a significant gap for researchers tracing the transition from party oaths to party testimony.
Jurisdictional Note
Juramentum and its subtypes are features of civil law and canon law systems and have no direct procedural counterpart in American common law courts. The oath of calumny had limited influence on early English equity practice but did not survive as a formal requirement. Researchers working in Louisiana, which retains civil law heritage, may find more sustained engagement with these terms in historical state sources.
Related Terms
Oath; Oath of Calumny; Affirmation; Juramentum Calumniae; Juramentum Decisorium; Juramentum in Litem; Perjury; Witness Competency; Civil Law; Canon Law; Equity Practice; Vexatious Litigation
JURAMENTUMmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
Lat. In the civil law. An oath. JURAMENTUM CALUMNIÆ. In the civil and canon law. The oath of calumny. An oath imposed upon both parties to a suit, as a preliminary to its trial, to the effect that they are not influenced by malice or any sin- ister motives in prosecuting or defending the same, but by a belief in the justice of their cause. It was also required of the attorneys and proctors. Juramentum est indivisibile; et non est admittendum in parte verum et in parte falsum. An oath is indivisible; it is not to be held partly true and partly false. 4 Inst. 274. In the K L
JURAMENTUMmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
Lat. In the civil law. An Oath. —Juramcntum calumnise. In the civil and canon law. The oath of calumny. An oath imposed upon both parties to a suit, as a preliminary to its trial, to the effect that they are not influenced by malice or any sinister motives in prosecu ne or defending the same, but by a bejief in the justice of their cause. It was also required of the attorneys and proctors.—Jura-~ mentum corporalis. A corporal oath. See OaTH.—Juramentum in litem. In the civil law. An assessment oath; an oath, taken by the plaintiff in an action, that the extent of the damages he has suffered, estimated in money, amounts to a certain sum, which oath, in certain cases, is accepted in lieu of other proof. Mackeld. Rom. Law, 16.—Juramentum judfiociale. In the civil law. An oath which the judge, of his own accord, defers to either of the parties. It is of two kinds: First, that which the judge defers for the decision of the cause, and which is understood by the general name “juramentum judiciale,”’ and is sometimes called ‘upp lorory. oath,” jsuramentum suppletorium; second, that which the judge defers in order to fix and determine the amount of the condemnation which he ought to pronounce, and which is called ‘“juramentum tn litem.” Poth. Obl. p. 4, c. 8, § 3, art. 3—Juramocntum neoessarium. n Roman law. A _ compulsory oath. A disclosure under oath, which the pretor compelled one of the parties to a suit to make, when the other, applying for such an appeal, agreed to abide ea his adversar should swear. 1 Whart. Ev. § 458; Dig. 12, 2, 5, 2—Juramentum voluntarium. In Roman law. A voluntary oath. A species of appeal to conscience, by which one of the parties to a suit, instead of proving his case, offered to abide by what his adversary should answer yard oath. 1 Whart. Ev. § 458; Dig. 12, 2, Juramentum est indivisibile; et non est admittendum in parte vwerum et in parte falsum. An oath is indivisible; it is not to be held partly true and partly false. 4 Inst. 274.
JURAMENTUMmain
Burrill's Law Dictionary • 1870
L. Lat. [from jurare, to swear; Lat. jusjurandum.] In the civil and common law. An oath. Juramentum est affirmatio vel negatio de aliquo, attestatione sacræ rei firmata; an oath is an affirmation or denial respecting any matter, confirmed by the attestation of a sacred thing. Fleta, lib. 5, c. 22, § 1. Juramentum est indivisibile, et non est admittendum in parte verum, et in parte falsum; an oath is indivisible, and is not to be received as in part true and in part false. 4 Inst. 279. See Oath. The classic word jusjurandum is used in the Digests. Dig. 12.2. But juramentum occurs in the Code, and is the prevailing word in the later civil law, as in the feudal and old common law. Cod. 2.59. Feud. Lib. 2, tit. 33.
JURAMENTUMn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
An oath.

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