It was designed to help judges deal with vast amounts of jurist writings on a subject and thus to reach a decision.
According to the legal historian Alan Watson, "This Law of Citations marks a low point of Roman jurisprudence, since [it declares] the correct opinion is to be found by counting heads, not by choosing the best solution".
[1] Nonetheless, it was "exhibiting no mean instinct of statesmanship" and may be viewed as an attempt to simplify adjudication in practice, "in opposition to the growing ignorance and ubiquitous corruption and injustice of the times".
[2] Authority was given to Ulpianus, Gaius, Paulus, Papinianus and Modestinus, as they were some of the outstanding jurists of the classical period.
Lesser classical jurists could also be cited on the condition that at least two relevant manuscripts could be collated to verify their proper citation.