Studia Prawnicze KUL, 2019, nr 4

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Testis unus testis nullus – the Testimony of Saint Ambrose
(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2019) Adamczewski, Karol
Saint Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, played a key role in the adoption of the Roman legal culture into ecclesiastical legislation, particularly in the West in the second half of the 4th century. In this context, his letters reporting some lawsuit appear to be of special value. The case involved Indicia, a virgin consecrated to God. Ambrose pointed out the mistakes committed in the investigation, and he questioned the lawfulness of the proceedings. While reviewing the case, he showed to his subordinate what appropriate conduct was to have been undertaken in this kind of case. He especially emphasized the necessity to maintain the procedural requirement of consistent testimony of at least two witnesses. Significantly, the legal rule cited by the Bishop of Milan principle testis unus testis nullus, before it was announced by Constantine the Great in 334, had already existed in the Judeo-Christian legal tradition.