The ''graphḗ paranómōn'' ( grc, γραφή παρανόμων), was a form of legal action believed to have been introduced at
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
under the
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
sometime around the year 415 BC; it has been seen as a replacement for
ostracism
Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democracy, Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be exile, expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed ...
, which fell into disuse around the same time, although this view is not held by David Whitehead, who points out that the ''graphe paranomon'' was a legal procedure with legal ramifications, including shame, and the convicted had officially committed a crime, whereas the ostrakismos was not shameful in the least.
The name means "suit against (bills) contrary to the laws." The suit could be brought against laws or decrees that had already been passed, or earlier when they were merely proposals. Once someone announced under
oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...
that he intended to bring such a suit, the
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
or decree in question was suspended until the matter was resolved. The thinking was that, as there was no mechanism in Athens for unmaking a law, any new law should not be in contradiction with the already existing laws.
The suit served a double function. Firstly, it provided a means of reviewing and perhaps rescinding decrees and legislation passed by the assembly. In this it seems to resemble a
court of review such as the modern
U.S. Supreme Court. However, the judges (who in English are usually referred to as jurors) of the judicial formations of the Athenian court of
Heliaia Heliaia or Heliaea ( grc, Ἡλιαία; Doric: Ἁλία ''Halia'') was the supreme court of ancient Athens. The view generally held among scholars is that the court drew its name from the ancient Greek verb , which means ''congregate''. Another v ...
were, like those attending assembly, ordinary citizens and not legal experts, just as the court used was a general one and not a panel devoted to legislative matters. (Jurors, it is true, had a slightly higher status, as they had to be over thirty, not twenty as for the assembly, and they were under oath.) The mechanism can be compared to the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
s found in many modern democracies. However, in Athens this review was not automatic, but had to be initiated by a citizen. Unlike both an upper house or a specially established court, the review was not framed as an impartial and objective re-examination, but was couched as a prosecution to be defended by a defendant who stood to suffer a penalty in the event of conviction.
In this lies its second function: it provided a weapon with which rival Athenian politicians could damage or eliminate each other, or from another perspective, a means by which the Athenian demos could favor or punish the leaders who served it. The suit was brought against the speaker who had proposed the motion in the assembly: he was regarded as having misled the people and corrupted the laws of the state, since the assembly itself was not accountable to anyone and by a kind of structural fiction (see
legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
) could do no wrong. The liability of the proposer expired after one year; after that the law itself could still be attacked and rescinded, but the proposer would not suffer any penalty. After five years the law itself was no longer subject to a suit.
The penalty for conviction was usually a fine, sometimes small but sometimes so large it could not be paid. In this case disenfranchisement (''
atimia'') would result, effectively ending a political career. Because of this, active politicians began recruiting surrogates to propose bills that they themselves had authored.
Penalties would then fall on the surrogate rather than on the politician himself.
Very many of the known prosecutions concern not substantive legislation but honorary decrees, seemingly of little importance from a modern viewpoint. These did however allow discussion of a wide range of questions and issues. A signal example is the pair of speeches surviving from a ''graphē paranómōn'' from 333 BC,
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pro ...
' ''
On the Crown
"On the Crown" ( grc, Ὑπὲρ Κτησιφῶντος περὶ τοῦ Στεφάνου, ''Hyper Ktēsiphōntos peri tou Stephanou'') is the most famous judicial oration of the prominent Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes, delivered in ...
'' in response to
Aeschines
Aeschines (; Greek: , ''Aischínēs''; 389314 BC) was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators.
Biography
Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems p ...
' ''Against Ctesiphon''.
See also
*
Judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incom ...
References
* The Athenian Democracy in the age of Demosthenes,
Mogens Herman Hansen (Oxford 1987): 205-218
* Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd edition (Oxford 1996): graphe paranomon
*
Perseus Project
The Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University, which assembles digital collections of humanities resources. Version 4.0 is also known as the "Perseus Hopper", and it is hosted by the Department of Classical Studies. The proj ...
Demosthenes: ''On the Crown''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graphe paranomon
Ancient Greek law
Athenian democracy