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Responsa (plural of responsum, 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars in historic .


In the Roman Empire
recognised responsa prudentium, i.e., the responses and thoughts of , as one of the sources of (written law), along with laws originating from , from the , or from the .

A particularly well-known and highly influential example of such responsa was the Digesta (or Digests), in 90 books, the principal work of the prominent second century jurist . This was a systematic treatise on civil and law, consisting of responsa on real and hypothetical cases, cited by many later Roman legal writers."Salvius Iulianus" in Adolf Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, American Philosophical Society, 1953, p. 552


In the Catholic Church
In the , responsa are answers of the competent executive authority to specific questions (in Latin, dubia, literally "doubts") sent by to the . Responsa given by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts which are promulgated as authentic interpretation have the force of law as per canon 16 §2 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Other responsa cannot have this binding force, but nevertheless possess a high authority.
(2020). 9781000179262, Routledge.

Some responsa are given in , the official journal of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW). The responsa given in Notitiae are, according to the CDW, to be considered only as private responses unless they are published in official legal records of the Holy See.


In Judaism
In rabbinic literature, the responsa are known as She'elot u-Teshuvot ( "questions and answers"), and comprise the body of written decisions and rulings given by ("deciders of Jewish law"). A modern term, used mainly for questions on the , is "Ask the rabbi".

Judaism's responsa constitute a special class of rabbinic literature, to be distinguished from the commentaries ( meforshim)—devoted to the exegesis of the , the , the —and from the codes of law which delineate the rules for ordinary incidents of life.

The responsa literature covers a period of 1,700 years—the mode, style, and subject matter have changed as a function of the travels of the Jewish people and of the development of other halakhic literature, particularly the codes.

Responsa play a particularly important role in . The questions forwarded are usually practical, and often concerned with new contingencies for which no provision has been made in the codes of law, and the responsa thus supplement the codes. They, therefore, function as a source of law, in a manner similar to , in that they are consulted by later decisors () in their rulings; they are also, in turn, incorporated into subsequent codes.

In addition to requests for halakhic rulings, many of the questions addressed were theoretical in character, particularly among the earlier responsa. The responsa thus contain rulings on , business ethics, the philosophy of religion, , , , , as well as interpretations of passages in the , the , the , and the . Thus, while early Jewish literature has few historical works, many notes on the have been introduced into the responsa.

Responsa thus contain valuable information about the of the Jews and the people among whom they lived. Information may also be gleaned about the moral and social relations of the times, occupations, the household, , expressions of joy and of sorrow, and recreations, and even games. Older responsa are also important for readings and emendations of the and the .


In Islam
A similar use of responsa (here called fatwā) is found in .


See also


Further reading


External links

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