QUAESTIO PERPETUA
quaestio perpetua (kwes-chee-oh-neez p<<schwa>>r-pech-oo-ee). [Latin “perpetual inquiry”]
Roman law. A permanent commission to hear criminal cases; specif., a standing jury court created
by statute to try and pass sentence on particular crimes. Pl. quaestiones perpetuae.
“Then in 149 the lex Calpurnia was passed, concerned not only with reparation but also
punishment; it established a permanent court of senators as sworn jurors to deal with claims of
provincial extortion. Thereafter, both the senatorial special commissions, and also the jurisdiction
of the assemblies began in their turn to be superseded by the creation of quaestiones perpetuae,
permanent jury courts, [which] provided, each for its own offence or range of offences a
framework.” O.F. Robinson, The Criminal Law of Ancient Rome 1–2 (1995). [Blacks Law 8th]