Edict

A positive law promulgated by the sovereign of a country, and having reference either to the whole land or some of its divisions, but usually relating to affairs of state. It differs from a “public proclamation,” in that it enacts a new statute, and earries with it the authority of law.

in some countries, is a law ordained by the sovereign, by which he forbids or commands something, and extends either to the whole country, or only to some particular provinces. Edicts are somewhat similar to the president’s proclamation; their difference consists in this, that the former have authority and force of law in themselves, whereas the latter are only declara- Among the Romans this word sometimes signified a citation to appear before a judge. The edicts of the emperors, also called constituttones principum, were oew laws which they made of theirown motion, either to decide oases which they had foreseen, or to abolish or change some ancient laws. They were different from their rescripts or decrees. These edicts were the sources which contributed to the formation of the Gregorian, Hermogenian, Theodorian, and Justinian codes. ‘-EDICTS OF JUSTINIAN, are thirteen constitutions or laws of that prince, found, in most editions of the corpus juris civilis, after the Novels. Being confined to matters of police in the provinces of the empire, they are of little use.