ABSTRACT
As we have observed, in the fourth century AD the imperial system of government completed its transformation into an undisguised autocracy that received its definite form under Emperors Diocletian and Constantine the Great. The entire sovereignty of the Roman people was deemed to be transferred to the emperor, who existed as the sole authority in all spheres of government: legislative, administrative, judicial and military. On principle, the emperor as an absolute monarch was omnipotent and his activities in ruling the state were not subject to any constitutional constraints. However, the emperor actually exercised his governmental functions and powers with guidance from established substantive and procedural norms. Although he might change these norms at his discretion, he was bound to observe them to ensure that his decisions produced the intended practical results. In the final analysis, it may be declared that the observance of these norms constituted a kind of intra-organ control over an authoritarian regime.
