MONETARY SYSTEM OF THE ANCIENT ROME: IMPLICATIONS ON CONTEMPORARY MONETARY LAW
MONETARY SYSTEM OF THE ANCIENT ROME: IMPLICATIONS ON CONTEMPORARY MONETARY LAW

Summary/Abstract: The subject of analysis in this paper is to review the concept of the monetary system in ancient Rome in order to recognize its implications to the modern monetary law. In that context, in the first part of the paper it points to the characteristics of the original monetary system, the most significant rulers who were determining it by the strict laws which protect their monetary prerogatives (as a precursor of monetary sovereignty) and the first serious reform that took place during the economic crisis during the Second Punic War (218-201 AD). In the second part, it will point out to the emergence of the new economic trends, notably the impact of the law of value as the important determinants postulates of contemporary monetary law, the new macroeconomic trends, the impact of inflation on the disavowal of the monetary system and the new directions of economic reforms. The subject of particular analysis is the role of accounting in monetary policy and public expenditures because the financial control essentially determined the direction of monetary policy in a period of Roman Empire. By reviewing the causes of currency crises in the ancient Rome, the authors try to point out the similarity with some important factors of global economic and financial crisis, regarding the weaknesses of monetary legal rules in conflict with the economic reality, which confirms the importance of monetary stability as essential pure public good for the functioning of the state and the role of the legislator in establishing an optimal monetary regime.

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