THE MEANING OF THE WORD TRIBUNAL

In the English language the word " tribunal" refers to a sort of administrative court, because the English and the Americans as well use the word " court" in the broader sense when they define the place where justice is done.The word " tribunal" comes from " tribune" and in ancient Rome referred to the main platform where the supreme magistrates and the tribunes as well spoke to the people. In reading the initiatives taken by Caius Gracchus after the death of his brother I have been surprised by one of his moves to gain more popularity and to speak more directly to the public. Until his time the senate had a rectangular shape and outside of it there was a circular staircase where the comitia were taking place. In order to be better heard and seen, Gaius Gracchus decided to speak from the tribunal of the Rostra, facing directly the people of Rome rather than being oriented towards the senate. This action is for me of extraordinary importance because it sets forth the principle of the direct participation of the people of Rome in the politics of that time and let them know that some political decisions of the aristocracy may affect them.The initiative of speaking from the tribunal of the Rostra (which is a rectangular podium located in the Roman Forum) makes evident that the new center of the political activity belongs to the people and not to the aristocracy.The etymology of the word tribunal still retains one of the main characteristics of the early division of the Romans by tribes.