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Abolitionism is not a household world which we are using every day. Some of us may be familiar with it, but some are certainly not, and one proof of the widespread unfamiliarity is the fact that even when we stumble of a text that uses the word it is more often than never being misspelled as absolutionism, abulitionism or the like. In other words: it is completely legitimate to ask the question: what does this word mean, where does it come from, and why is it important to know? | Abolitionism is not a household world which we are using every day. Some of us may be familiar with it, but some are certainly not, and one proof of the widespread unfamiliarity is the fact that even when we stumble of a text that uses the word it is more often than never being misspelled as absolutionism, abulitionism or the like. In other words: it is completely legitimate to ask the question: what exactly does this word mean, where does it come from, and why is it important to know? | ||
== The Concept == | |||
The term goes back to ancient Roman times. In Latin the verb abolēre (aboleō) means: to do away with something, and to do so completely, wholly. To nullify, and that is also the meaning of the present-day English verb "to abolish" - and of its equivalents in today's Roman languages, like, e.g., abolir, abolire ... | |||
The noun abolitio was | . | ||
The noun abolitio was used in Roman law. It meant something like "wiping out a criminal prosecution against somebody before a verdict was spoken". In other words, the lifting of criminal prosecution during the process. | |||
Whereas the abolitio privata had only limited relevance, the abolitio publica was comparable to an amnesty – with the difference that an amnesty usually concerns convicted delinquents, whereas an abolition stops the criminal procedure and thus prevents the judge from reaching a verdict. In Roman times, the birthday of the Emperor or the birth of a crown prince or similar joyful occasions could be cause for such an abolitio. | Whereas the abolitio privata had only limited relevance, the abolitio publica was comparable to an amnesty – with the difference that an amnesty usually concerns convicted delinquents, whereas an abolition stops the criminal procedure and thus prevents the judge from reaching a verdict. In Roman times, the birthday of the Emperor or the birth of a crown prince or similar joyful occasions could be cause for such an abolitio. | ||
In later times, kings used to claim their right to inferfere with criminal procedures at their will. The king of France, e.g., would just write a letter of abolition (lettre d’abolition) to free any of his subjects from prosecution – the opposite being the more infamous lettre de cachet which would send anyone who had angered the king into the dungeon. | In later times, kings used to claim their right to inferfere with criminal procedures at their will. The king of France, e.g., would just write a letter of abolition (lettre d’abolition) to free any of his subjects from prosecution – the opposite being the more infamous lettre de cachet which would send anyone who had angered the king into the dungeon. | ||