The right to file lawsuits in ancient Athens, their genera and species

To initiate a lawsuit or to be a plaintiff (on one’s own behalf or on behalf of persons who were not entitled to this) only an adult and not deprived of rights of an Athenian citizen had the right

For the slave his master sued.

For the metek (a free man is a foreigner who does not have citizenship) his prostate lawsuit filed (a citizen whom the meteki chose as their master; an intermediary between the state and the mark itself).

For a woman and for a minor person, a lawsuit was filed by a husband, father or guardian.

Anyone could be the defendants (women and men of all ranks and classes).

The types of charges and the order of proceedings differed from each other, it all depended on the type of cases. All court cases differed in their type of process and were divided into two kinds :

  1. Grafe (written accusation; complaint in criminal cases) ;

  2. Dike (civil action (litigation)) .

Differences between grafe and dica:

1. Grafe - a special kind of process in which the state or its individual member affected by the violation of state laws was affected. Initially, graphee was written in writing for all to see, illustrating that a certain person is filing a lawsuit (starts the process). Therefore, the original grafe was recorded, and was given for publication, but later private processes, which were not subject to publication, began to be recorded. Dica is a special kind of process that arose as a result of encroachment on someone’s rights (violation of personal interests);
2. Grafe could begin only a full citizen of Athens. However, the case could not affect his personal interests. Dike could be initiated only by a person whose interests were violated, or his kirios (lord; he who acted as a protector of a person who lacked citizenship) or a prostate;
3. In the grafe, the prosecutor did not receive any property benefit, since the case was not related to the protection of the interests of the person, but to the protection of the state, which received a fined penalty if the accused was sentenced to him. At the same time, there were some types of state processes (fasis and apographer) in which the prosecutor received material benefits (remuneration). Dike had a direct connection with the property benefit for the plaintiff, since in meeting his claims, he received an item about which a conflict arose or received a fine;
4. According to grafe, the prosecutor was fined 1000 drachmas, only under the condition that, when the case was considered, less than one fifth of the judges ’votes were on his side. But, if a citizen filed his charges three times and they turned out to be unsuccessful, then he lost the right to initiate grafe. Such a citizen became attiem (a person who was completely or partially deprived of civil rights). In Dike, the plaintiff, who did not receive the fifth part of the judges ’votes, paid the epobelia to the defendant (a fine in the amount of the sixth part of the disputed item or a certain amount (obol with a drachma));
5. The citizen who initiated the grafe could not withdraw the lawsuit and thereby terminate the proceedings, but had to complete it, under the fear of a fine of 1000 drachmas. The citizen who initiated the dike , without waiting for the court decision on the case, could, without fear and responsibility, withdraw the lawsuit and thereby terminate the proceedings;
6. When initiating grafe , there was no obligation to pay the state (court) duty. When initiating a dick , the plaintiff had to pay a court fee (parastasis).

In Athenian legal proceedings there were the following types of process , which differed from others in the way they started a case:

1. Grafe Paranomon - a complaint of unlawfulness (accusation of unlawfulness). Any citizen had the right to make such a complaint, against the one who, in his opinion, offered or had already produced an illegal (conflicting with the democratic system and the interests of the state) decision or law.

Also grafe paranomon was a way of blocking an undesirable law (psefizmy - regulations).

2. Isangely - a special type of accusation, used in emergency crimes (especially serious or dangerous for the whole society and the state).

3. Probol - a public petition submitted before the trial for consideration by the people's assembly.

4. Fasis - denunciation by a private person of a violation of the financial interests of the state (for example, failure to pay taxes, duties; abuse in commercial fields; unfair guardianship). If the court recognized the claim of this type of fair and honest, the claimant received a remuneration in the form of half of the confiscated property of the accused or a fine, which was imposed on him.

5. Apographer is a complaint against a private person who illegally and unfairly owns another's property belonging to the state. This complaint received its name due to the fact that when it was filed, the accused was given an inventory of the property, which was subsequently seized in favor of the state. If the lawsuit, which the citizen filed, turned out to be fair, the claimant received a reward from the confiscated property.

6. Apagoge - assignment to the appropriate authorities of the offender, who was caught, taken at the crime scene. This form of process took place in the case of crimes that were directed against life or property (for example, murder, theft, robbery, kidnapping).

7. Ephegesis is an invitation to the authorities to the place where the criminal was located, with the purpose of his arrest. This form of justice was mainly subjected to those who harbored the exiles, who voluntarily returned to the territory of Athens. In addition, this form of process also acted on state property thieves (for example, documents).

8. Endexia - a type of complaint in writing (a report) on a person who has committed something prohibited (for example, a public debtor who does not rightfully occupy a particular public office; on a person who is deprived of the right to appear in those places where he is forbidden to enter (church, temple)). In addition, it was possible to file this complaint and the chairman of the national assembly (ecclesia), who illegally opposed the vote, as well as the one who spread slander and engaged in treason. This complaint was brought to the pesmophets, since its consideration was within their competence.

9. Complaint (report) on sycophants (persons who receive material benefits due to cooperation with the state). Sycophaneism spawned a whole class of scammers (sycophants) who abused their citizen’s right to help and contribute for the benefit of public and private property. ^[one]

• Kudryavtseva T.V. People's Court in democratic Athens / T.V. Kudryavtsev. - SPb .: Aletheia, 2008. - 464 p.

• Latyshev V.V. Sketch of Greek antiquities. Part 1-I: State and military antiquities / 2nd ed., Pererab. - SPb: Printing house of V. Bezobrzov and Comp., 1888. - 355 p.