Legal Definitions - divinatio

DIVINATIO

Divinatio (div-i-nay-shee-oh) is a legal process used in ancient Rome to determine which of two or more applicants had the strongest claim to conduct a criminal prosecution against an accused.

For example, if two people wanted to prosecute someone for a crime, they would go through the divinatio process to determine who had the better claim. This could involve a variety of methods, such as drawing lots or consulting an oracle.

Another example could be if two people both claimed to be the rightful heir to a property, they could use divinatio to determine who should inherit it.

Divinatio was a way to settle disputes and determine the rightful claimant in a fair and impartial manner. It was often used in cases where there were multiple claimants and no clear way to determine who had the stronger claim. By using divinatio, the Romans believed that they were relying on the judgment of the gods to help them make the right decision.