Legal Definitions - calumnia

In Roman law, calumnia refers to the act of initiating legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, with malicious intent or based on charges known to be false. It describes a situation where an individual deliberately brings a baseless lawsuit or makes a fabricated accusation against another person, not to seek justice, but to harass, harm, or vex them.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1 (Civil Proceedings):

  Imagine a merchant who is deeply jealous of a competitor's growing success. To undermine their rival, the merchant files a lawsuit claiming that the competitor has defaulted on a non-existent debt, demanding a significant sum of money. The merchant knows full well that no such debt exists and that the claim is entirely fabricated, but pursues the case to tie up the competitor's resources, damage their reputation, and distract them from their business. This scenario would be considered calumnia because the merchant initiated a civil proceeding with a knowingly false claim and a malicious intent to vex and harm their rival.

• Example 2 (Criminal Charges):

  Consider a person who has a long-standing personal vendetta against a neighbor. Seeking to cause serious trouble for the neighbor, this individual goes to the authorities and falsely accuses them of a serious crime, such as arson, providing no evidence and knowing the accusation is completely untrue. The accuser's sole motivation is to see their neighbor arrested, investigated, and suffer legal consequences, regardless of their innocence. This situation exemplifies calumnia because knowingly false criminal charges were made against someone with the intent to cause harm and distress.