<P> The consuls were invested with the executive power of the state and headed the government of the Republic . Initially, the consuls held vast executive and judicial power . In the gradual development of the Roman legal system, however, some important functions were detached from the consulship and assigned to new officers . Thus, in 443 BC, the responsibility to conduct the census was taken from the consuls and given to the censors . The second function taken from the consulship was their judicial power . Their position as chief judges was transferred to the praetors in 366 BC . After this time, the consul would only serve as judges in extraordinary criminal cases and only when called upon by decree of the Senate . </P> <P> For the most part, power was divided between civil and military spheres . As long as the consuls were in the pomerium (the city of Rome), they were at the head of government, and all the other magistrates, with the exception of the tribunes of the plebeians, were subordinate to them, but retained independence of office . The internal machinery of the Republic was under the consuls' superintendence . In order to allow the consuls greater authority in executing laws, the consuls had the right of summons and arrest, which was limited only by the right of appeal from their judgment . This power of punishment even extended to inferior magistrates . </P> <P> As part of their executive functions, the consuls were responsible for carrying into effect the decrees of the Senate and the laws of the assemblies . Sometimes, in great emergencies, they might even act on their own authority and responsibility . The consuls also served as the chief diplomat of the Roman state . Before any foreign ambassadors reached the Senate, they met with the consuls . The consul would introduce ambassadors to the Senate, and they alone carried on the negotiations between the Senate and foreign states . </P> <P> The consuls could convene the Senate, and presided over its meetings . Each consul served as president of the Senate for a month . They could also summon any of the three Roman assemblies (Curiate, Centuriate, and Tribal) and presided over them . Thus, the consuls conducted the elections and put legislative measures to the vote . When neither consul was within the city, their civic duties were assumed by the praetor urbanus . </P>

Who had the sole authority over the family in roman society