The public-private law split originated in classical Roman law

Evidence

European legal scholars make much of the distinction between “public” and “private” law. The distinction goes back to classical Roman law. Public law concerned the Roman state; private law concerned the rights and interests of individuals. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 776

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the public/private law distinction with its Roman origin — named conceptual scaffolding.
• XREF: The erosion of the public/private divide connects to the reader’s polyad thread on law’s relation to justice, and government as silent partner in every field. — connects to: No branch of law remains purely private in modern legal systems — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 777; Law emerges when a secondary rule separates legal rules from social rules — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 59; Colonial capitalism produces the same public-private split it creates in the First World — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 170 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Colonial capitalism produces the same public-private split it creates in the First World #expands (0.85) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 170
• Private law governs relations among private citizens and organizations. #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 152
• Law emerges when a secondary rule separates legal rules from social rules #complicates (0.72) — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 59
• Modern states rest on a single source of law applied equally, unlike premodern states #complicates (0.72) — David Theo Goldberg, The Racial State, 135