At the time of the Roman Empire, quaestiones perpetuae faced competition from the imperial court of justice, i.e. the cognitio extra ordinem proceedings. The new system inspired the establishment of a new type of crimes called crimina extraordinaria. The Principate period with its new court procedure also brought a wider catalogue of offences by enabling to prosecute more offences extra ordinem – i.e. outside the order set by the leges iudiciorum publicorum. The cognitio extra ordinem procedure allowed the examination of extenuating and aggravating circumstances, and choosing penalties in accordance with the seriousness of the offence.