“Decreta. In Roman law decisions of magistrates given after investigation of a case by cognitio… and in particular, decisions of the emperor as judge of first instance after trial by cognitio, or as a judge of appeal. As the highest authority in the State the emperor could interpret the law freely and even introduce new principles. Consequently imperial decisions were authoritative interpretations of the law or even innovatory and regarded as statements binding for the future, and as such quoted by the jurists. They were not only communicated to the parties but recorded in the records of the imperial court and private persons might obtain copies of them.” David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law 343 (1980).
decreta
decreta (di-kree-t[schwa]), n. [Latin “decisions”] Roman law. Judgments of magistrates; esp., sentences pronounced by the emperor as the supreme judge. See DECRETUM.
