CUTUMA JUSTIŢIARĂ SAU „JUDECATA ŢIGĂNEASCĂ” LA ROMII GABORI
THE CUSTOM OF JUSTICE OR "GYPSY JUDGMENT" FOR THE ROMA

Author(s): Gabriel Constantin Sala
Subject(s): Cultural history, Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory
Published by: MUZEUL ETNOGRAFIC AL TRANSILVANIEI
Keywords: common law; judgment; roma; justice
Summary/Abstract: The equivalent of the „Rroma Law” is found in the teachings of the old folk from the peasant Romanian communities of medieval times, in the traditional judicial customs, and it owes its origins to the collective wish of solving its inherent problems following its specific principles. No matter if we’re talking about Romanians or Rromas, these social elements do not represent a practical outcome of any tendency of the ancient mioritic society to resist the tutelary authority of boyars, nobles, or other state officials. This tendency of taking over judicial attributions, of decentralizing them to a level of local medieval law is a consequence of practical reason, in order to increase the efficiency of the judicial act. It’s also the consequence of reasons corroborated by apprehensions toward the symbiosis between fear and respect for the authority imposed by local powerful figures. The minor problems, in this case, those that didn’t harm the economic interests and the authority of the local elite, which wanted to avoid pointless risks, were preferred to be handled quietly within the community, without exterior interference or supervision. The elites of those times were standing on untouchable pedestals and were implicitly perceived as inhibiting, unapproachable beings, totally ignorant when it came to the simple problems of the community members. Anyway, to tolerate the customs of local communities for the optimal functioning of medieval and modern society, the traditional judicial customs were quietly accepted or officially encouraged by the local representatives of state authority. Most certainly, the „Rroma Law” represented an essential mechanism in the evolution and perpetuation of the community.

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