Presently, the best in-depth book about Roman Criminal Law, but not very readable for the layman.

1)The two earlier reviews were a bit unfair. They neglected a very important point. They did not acknowledge the quality of this book. It is indeed true that it is not intended for beginners. The author says that from the start off, at the preface. It does use many Latin expressions and assumes that the reader has at least a good general knowledge of Roman Law institutions and a basic acquaintance with the roman governing system, both during the Republic and the Empire.

2)Terms such as quaestiones perpetuae, patria potestas, usucapio, furtus, latrocinium, praetor, quaestor, aedile, consul, comitia centuriata, concilium plebis, Senate, lex and plebiscitum may be used throughout the book without further notice. If you are not familiar with such terms, it is probably better not to try to read this book. You might get disappointed, just like the two other reviewers did. If you are not familiar with Theodosian and his Code, Justinian and the Corpus Iuris Ciuilis, Gaius and his Institutiones, classical roman law, post-classical roman law, you might get a little confused.

3)Nonetheless, this is an amazing book. It is, by far, the best book available on Roman Criminal Law at the moment. The old Römisches Strafrecht by Mommsen is not only out of date, but also pervaded by anachronism in its taxonomy. Not to mention its prolixity.


VERY IMPORTANT:

4)This, on the other hand, is a very concise book, but very technical, accurate and surprisingly comprehensive, tough succinct. I highly recommend it if you want an in-depth approach. It is surely a fast read, if you have the prior knowledge it takes. It is a short book and it can really offer you a lot in a very small amount of time. If you are not so into Roman Law, the reading of this book might still be useful, as long as you are patient enough to google the references and to learn in the internet or in dictionaries about institutions or authors mentioned in the book. If you do not have such patience or if you have a very limited knowledge of Roman Law and Latin, I suggest you search for a different text.

5)This is really a good book, but it takes some prior knowledge to be able to learn from it and appreciate it.

6)I sincerely hope my review was of some aid. Please don't forget to vote in case this review was helpful to you.