Legal Definitions - lex Fufia Caninia

LEX FUFIA CANINIA

Lex Fufia Caninia was a law in ancient Rome that limited the number or proportion of slaves that an owner could free by will. This law was later abolished by Justinian.

An example of Lex Fufia Caninia would be if a Roman citizen owned 10 slaves, they could only free a maximum of 5 slaves by will. If they tried to free more than 5, the law would prevent it.

Another example would be if a Roman citizen owned 100 slaves, they could only free a maximum of 20 slaves by will. If they tried to free more than 20, the law would prevent it.

These examples illustrate how Lex Fufia Caninia limited the freedom of slave owners to free their slaves by will. The law was put in place to prevent the sudden release of large numbers of slaves, which could have caused social and economic problems in ancient Rome.