- Comitia Tributa meant the Assembly of the Tribes and was part of three Roman Assemblies along with the Comitia Centuriata and the Comitia Curiata.
- Under the Roman Republic the voters did not elect representatives, but they themselves voted amongst their various Assemblies on whether to accept new legislation or veto it.
Functions
- Legislative and Judicial.
- It was the Forum for debating almost all Roman Legislation, which were the Laws of the Tribunes.
Location of Meetings
- Voting was held in the Campus Martius
- Legislation was passed in the Forum Romanum
Organisation
- One Urban Tribe and 31 Rural Tribes based on Place of Residence.
- After 241 BCE it became hereditary.
- The Voting was done in Rome even though the electors lived in the country.
- The Rural Tribes were dominated by the landed Aristocracy.
- It was easier to convene 31 Tribes than the 193 centuries of the Comitia Centuriata
Concilium Plebis
- Meaning the Plebeian Assembly, Patricians were excluded from this Assembly.
- It was a sub-Assembly which elected the Military Tribunes, Aediles, Quaestors.
- It Elected the 10 Tribuni Plebis
Tribune of the Plebs
- These were their presiding Officers numbering 10 in total.
Functions
- Legislative and Judicial.
- Same functions as the Comitia Tributa:
- In 286 BCE, the Lex Hortensia made decisions of the Plebs applicable to the whole Roman State.
- Legislation known as ‘Plebiscites’ were frequently passed through this Assembly.
- It was the Forum for debating almost all Roman Legislation, since the Laws passed by the Tribunes concerned all the People.
Voting
- Open to all Roman Citizens who were allowed to vote.
- Minimum notice to hold an Election was three market days (approximately two weeks).
- Voters were assembled into:
- Conventions (Conventio ‘coming together’) to hear the Debate, then
- Assemblies (Comitia ‘meeting place’) to vote or
- Councils (Concilium) to vote.
Forum Romanum