Anything not written down can cause doubt and ambiguity.
Additionally, laws cannot be enforced if there is no written
documentation to assist leaders and officials. Not possessing
written laws down also made citizens angry because many of them were
getting punished for breaking laws they did not know existed. This
is why Ancient Rome adopted the practice of writing laws, policies,
and regulations down. Ancient Rome made officials responsible for
enforcing these laws.
Rome s first written law code was created in 450 BC on twelve bronze
tablets. These tablets were put on display in the Forum so all Roman
citizens could see and understand them. This was known as the law of
the Twelve Tables. It is important to remember that as the Ancient
Roman Empire expanded and society changed, the tablets became a
steady symbol of Ancient Roman law.