''Capitis deminutio'' or ''capitis diminutio'' (diminished capacity) is a term used in
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I.
Roman law also den ...
, referring to the extinguishing, either in whole or in part, of a person's former status and
legal capacity. There were three changes of state or condition attended with different consequences: ''maxima'', ''media'', and ''minima''.
The greatest, ''capitis deminutio maxima'', involved the loss of liberty, citizenship, and family (e.g., being made a slave or
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
). ''Capitis deminutio media'' consisted of a loss of citizenship and family without any forfeiture of
personal liberty. ''Capitis deminutio minima'' consisted of a person ceasing to belong to a particular family, without loss of liberty or citizenship.
[Thomas Mackenzie and John Kirkpatrick, ''Studies in Roman Law'', Chapter II, pp. 71–72.]
See also
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Diminished responsibility
Notes
{{AncientRome-law-stub
Roman law