Il diritto penale nelle Novelle di Giustiniano

The purpose of this research is to analyse the penal law in the Justinian period and to identify general guidelines through the study of the juridical sources, especially the Novellae. Among the rich legislation of Justinian, I chose to develop the study of the Novellae for two reasons: the first one is that in the Novellae constitutiones the Emperor shows a particular interest for the public law and above all the penal field, while in his other works he puts the private law before the public one. The second reason is that the Novellae have been transmitted in their original shape and language, therefore they let the reader know the judgements of the legislator, not only juridically speaking, but also under the ethical, religious and political aspect. The Novellae offer a realistic and vivid description of the society of the time.