Legal Definitions - do, dico, addico

The Latin phrase do, dico, addico translates to "I give, I say, I adjudge." These were formal declarations made by a Roman praetor, a high-ranking judicial official, when exercising their legal authority during specific permissible days for legal proceedings.

• Do referred to the act of granting legal procedural steps, such as allowing a lawsuit to commence, permitting a specific defense, or appointing a judge to oversee a case. It was about enabling the legal process.
• Dico involved the pronouncement of a judgment or a formal legal ruling after a case had been heard. It was the declaration of the court's decision.
• Addico pertained to the formal adjudication or assignment of disputed property, rights, or other contested assets to one of the parties involved in a legal dispute.

Together, these words encapsulated the full scope of a praetor's judicial power: to initiate, decide, and resolve legal conflicts.

Examples:

• Imagine two Roman citizens, Marcus and Lucius, are in a dispute over a debt. Marcus wishes to sue Lucius. When Marcus presents his case to the praetor, the praetor, after reviewing the initial petition, formally declares "do," thereby granting Marcus the right to initiate a legal action against Lucius and appointing a specific judge to hear the evidence. This declaration allowed the legal process to move forward.

• In a separate case concerning a boundary dispute between two landowners, after all evidence has been presented and arguments heard before the assigned judge, the praetor reviews the judge's findings. The praetor then formally pronounces "dico," declaring the official judgment that the boundary lies along a specific landmark, thus resolving the dispute with a definitive ruling.

• Consider a scenario where two siblings are disputing the rightful inheritance of a family villa after their parents' passing. Both present their claims and supporting documents to the praetor. After careful consideration of the legal arguments and evidence, the praetor formally declares "addico," thereby adjudging and assigning the ownership of the villa to one of the siblings, legally settling the contested property claim.