The
Centuriate Assembly (
Latin:
comitia centuriata) of the
Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it divided Roman citizens into one hundred different groups. However, during the years of the Roman Republic, the number of groups was increased to 197. The Centuries gathered into the Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The majority of votes in any Century decided how that Century voted. Each Century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Century held. Once a majority of Centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided. Only the Centuriate Assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking
Roman Magistrates: "'
Consuls", "
Praetors" and "
Censors". The Centuriate Assembly could also pass a law that granted constitutional command authority, or "
Imperium", to Consuls and Praetors (the
lex de imperio or "Law on Imperium"), and Censorial powers to Censors (the
lex de potestate censoria or "Law on Censorial Powers"). In addition, the Centuriate Assembly served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases (in particular, cases involving capital punishment), and ratified the results of a Census.