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How did Roman praetors use edicts to change legal rules?

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President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Medicare Bill at a table beside former President Harry S. Truman, with Lady Bird Johnson and others standing behind them. — Legislation Former U.S. president Harry S. Truman (right) looking on as U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Medicare bill at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, July 30, 1965.

In ancient Rome, the praetor used edicts as a primary tool to adapt and reform the legal system. Upon taking office, a praetor issued a proclamation that served as his program for the year, outlining the procedures and judicial remedies he would provide.12

By exercising their authority to grant or refuse these remedies, praetors were able to create the jus honorarium—a body of rules that existed alongside and often superseded the rigid civil law. This process allowed the law to evolve, ensuring it remained responsive to new conditions and principles of equity and good faith.21

Over time, these annual edicts became a major instrument of legal reform, effectively replacing leges (legislative enactments) as the primary source of private law during the later Republic. This practice continued until the 2nd century CE, when the emperor Hadrian commissioned the consolidation of these edicts into a "perpetual edict." Once codified, this set of laws became unalterable by magistrates, effectively ending the praetors' role in modifying legal rules.213