Laurent Waelkens
Amne adverso
Roman Legal Heritage in European Culture
Louvain/Leuven, Leuven University Press, oct. 2015, 432 p., ISBN: 9789462700543, 45€
Présentation éditeur
Introduction to the history of Roman law and its institutions
Throughout its history, Europe has been influenced by Roman culture, a culture with a strong sense of society and highly legal-minded. Hence, Roman law is of major importance in European thinking. It was the first subject to be taught at university and it remains tightly interwoven with all layers of European civilisation. This book provides an introduction to the history of Roman law and its institutions, as they developed from Antiquity until the nineteenth century. Concepts such as fundamental rights and freedoms, lawsuits, family law, rights in rem, and obligations have their origins in classical Antiquity and were developed further throughout European history. The historical processing of our Roman legal heritage is treated from the perspective of comparative legal history. The book is written for undergraduate law students, but is also relevant for scholars from other disciplines.
Autor
- Laurent Waelkens is Full Professor of Roman Law and Legal History at KU Leuven.
Sommaire
Preface
Introduction – The science of Roman law
§1. The purpose of the study of Roman law
1. A component of academic thought
2. The comprehension of the ius commune, the common law of Europe
3. The Historical School as causa efficiens of the study of Roman law
4. The study of Roman law as ‘Dogmengeschichte’
Conclusion: the methodology of Roman law
§2. Roman law as a science
1. Legal science
2. The charms of classical philology
3. Palaeography and textual criticism
4. Historical criticism
5. The history of philosophy
§3. The external framework of the science
Chapter I Overview of the external history and the sources of Roman law
§1. The Kingdom and the early Republic (7th century BC – 367 BC)
1. The Kingdom
2. The early Republic (509 BC-367 BC)
§2. The heyday of the Republic (367 BC – 17 BC)
1. The Senate
2. The voting assemblies and their leges
3. The magistracy and the edicts
A. The consuls
B. The praetors
C. The censors
D. The aediles
E. The quaestors
F. The tribunes of the people
G. The provincial governors
Conclusion
4. The jurists
§3. The early Empire or Principate (17 BC – 284 AD)
1. The institutions of the Principate
A. The imperial provinces
B. The emperor and the republican institutions
C. The institutions of the capital
2. Classical Roman law
A. Famous jurists
B. The constitutions
C. Classical law
§4. The late Empire
1. The era of Diocletian
A. The Tetrarchy
B. Roman law under Diocletian
2. The fourth century and Christianity
A. Constantine the Great
B. Theodosius the Great
C. Roman law and Christianity
3. Legal texts from the fourth and fifth centuries
A. Old witnesses
B. The Theodosian Code
4. Justinianic law
A. The Codex Iustinianus
B. The Digest
C. The Institutes
D. The Novels
5. Back to the West
§5. The tradition of Roman law in the Germanic kingdoms
1. The continuation of Roman law
2. The case law in the so-called Germanic kingdoms
3. The influence of feudalism
4. Legal education in the early Middle Ages
§6. The reception of Roman law through the bishops and the Church
1. The Roman origins of canon law
2. The development of canon law in the early Middle Ages
3. The establishment of the officialities and the adoption of Roman law
4. Canon law at the universities
§7. The reception of Justinianic law at the universities
1. The glossators of Bologna
2. The commentators
3. The medieval scope of Roman law
§8. The reception of Roman law in the Early Modern Era
1. The advent and the repression of Greek culture
2. The sovereign monarchical lawcourts
3. Changes at the law faculty of Leuven
A. The Renaissance in legal doctrine
B. The Reformist legal doctrine
C. Humanism in law
D. The precursors of natural law
4. Subjective law
§9. Roman law after 1600
1. From natural law to the forum internum
2. Three new branches of law
A. From Roman civil rights to private law
B. The origin of public law
C. The origin of international law
3. The success of legal doctrine
4. From royal sovereign councils to democratic rights
5. Nineteenth-century Roman law
6. The Roman law of the twentieth century
Chapter II Libertas and freedom, from civil law to human rights
1. The military status libertatis
2. The political status libertatis
3. Thinking about freedom
4. From Roman to medieval freedom
5. Libertas and ciuitas in medieval legal doctrine
6. Civil rights and absolutism
7. The individual rights of the seventeenth century
Conclusion
Chapter III The law of civil procedure
§1. The republican civil procedure
§2. The formulary procedure
1. The preliminary hearing before the praetor
A. Summons and the institution of proceedings
B. Provisional measures
C. The actio
D. The defence before the praetor
E. The litiscontestatio
F. Appeal against the praetor
2. The phase before the judge
3. The execution of the sentence and insolvency
§3. The aedilician procedure
§4. The imperial cognitio extra ordinem
A. Jurisdiction
B. Summons
C. The preliminary hearing
D. Treatment on the merits
E. The execution
Conclusion
§5. The Romano-canonical procedure
1. The episcopalis audientia
2. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the early Middle Ages
3. The Romano-canonical procedure in the Middle Ages
A. In the twelfth century
B. In the thirteenth century
C. The introduction of the Romano-canonical procedure
§6. Appeals
1. In the formulary procedure
2. In the cognitio procedure
3. In the late Empire
A. With whom were appeals filed?
B. When was it possible to file an appeal?
C. Interlocutory appeals
D. The scope of appeals
4. From Justinian to the Middle Ages
5. The rebirth of appeals
A. The appellate judge
B. Actions of nullity
C. Interlocutory appeals
D. Admissibility of appeals in criminal law
E. Appeals against ecclesiastical courts
F. Appeals against imperial rescripts
G. Objections
H. The manner of appealing
6. The reintroduction of appeals in practice
§7. Evidence in Roman law
1. In the oldest Roman law
2. In the classical period
3. In the late Empire
4. In the early Middle Ages
5. The law of evidence of the Romano-canonical procedure
A. Notoriety
B. Full evidence
C. Imperfect and additional evidence
D. The burden of proof
E. The judge’s own knowledge
6. The evolution in the Early Modern Era
§8. Conflicts of legal norms
1. Classical rules pertaining to conflict of laws
A. In the Republic
B. In the Empire
2. In the ius commune
A. Which custom was applicable?
B. Does the ius commune take precedence over customary law?
3. In the Early Modern Era
Chapter IV The law of persons
§1. The paterfamilias, the main actor in the court
1. Familia and paterfamilias
2. The familia of a woman
3. Could a paterfamilias kill the members of his familia?
4. Losing patria potestas
5. The medieval family
§2. Family members
1. The paterfamilias
2. Wives
3. Descendants
4. Legitimi
5. Adoption
6. Adrogatio
7. Nexum
8. People in mancipio
A. Mancipium
B. Slavery
C. Manumissio
D. Medieval slavery
E. Slavery in the Early Modern Era
§3. Limited liability for family members
1. The actio de peculio
2. The actio de peculio et de in rem uerso
3. The actio noxalis
4. Extension to people who are not members of the familia
5. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern Era
§4. Man and woman
1. Relationships between men and women in Roman law
A. Coniugium and coniunctio
B. Vir et uxor
C. Concubinatus
D. Nuptiae
E. Matrimonium
F. Diuortium
G. Manus
2. The reception of man-woman relationships
A. The early Middle Ages
B. The development of marriage in the twelfth century
C. The development of marriage in the thirteenth century
D. The nationalisation of marriage in the Early Modern Era
Conclusion
§5. Marital property law
§6. The protection of liable minors
1. Guardianship
2. Types of guardians
3. The remedies of the pupil
4. Curatorship of people under the age of twenty-five
§7. Associations and legal persons
1. Trade with the government in the Roman law of Antiquity
A. Trade with the government in the Republic
B. Trade with the government in the Empire
2. Trade with civil associations in Antiquity
A. Familia
B. Fiducia
C. Societas
D. Curia
3. Trade with associations in the Middle Ages
A. Abbeys and bishoprics
B. Colleges and universities
4. The fictitious person in the Early Modern Era
A. Incorporation
B. In public law
C. In the private law of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Chapter V The law of inheritance
§1. Hereditary succession
1. The composition of the estate
2. The division
A. Towards civil law in the Republic and the early Empire
B. Adjustments in the praetor’s edict
C. Post-classical heirs
D. Novel 118
E. The complaint on account of an undutiful will (querela inofficiosi testamenti)
F. Obtaining the inheritance
G. The reception of Roman inheritance law
§2. Wills
1. Form
A. The mancipatory will
B. The praetorian will (bonorum possessio secundum tabulas)
C. The post-classical evolution
2. Contents
A. The testamentary disposition
B. Special legacy
C. Fideicommissa
D. The codicil
3. The reception of the will in a nutshell
Chapter VI The law of property
Introduction: real rights
§1. Possession
1. Possession and interdict
2. Protection of the possession of goods in Antiquity
A. The functions of the possession of goods
B. Conditions for the protection of the possession of goods in the classical Roman law
C. Extinctive prescription
3. The medieval reception of possession
A. Possession of immovable goods
B. Possession and ownership
C. The reception of the case-law concerning possession
4. Possession in the Early Modern Era
§2. Ownership
1. Ownership and reiuindicatio in Antiquity
A. Reiuindicatio
B. Remedies with equivalent consequences
C. The scope of the notion of ownership in Antiquity
2. Evolution in the Middle Ages
A. The feudal law
B. The influence of the moral theologians
C. Bartolus’ notion of ownership
3. The development towards the single and individual notion of ownership of the Early Modern Era
§3. The acquisition of ownership
1. Transfer
A. Acquisition from another familia
B. Acknowledged means of transfer
2. Informal transfer, i.e. traditio
A. The actual transfer
B. Delivery pursuant to a valid title
C. Possession serves as a title
D. The development towards a consensual transfer of ownership
E. Retention of title
3. Acquisitive prescription (usucapio)
4. Natural ways of acquiring ownership
A. Occupation
B. Perception of fruits
C. Accession
§4. Usufruct and servitudes
1. Praedial servitudes (iura praediorum)
A. Definition and types
B. The establishment of praedial servitudes
C. The termination of praedial servitudes
D. The reception of praedial servitudes
2. Usufruct
A. Definition
B. Remedies at law
C. The reception of usufruct
§5. Real securities
1. Legal acts in the law of pledge
2. The actio fiduciae
3. The actio pigneraticia
4. The actio seruiana
5. Consequences of the in rem character of the claim on account of pledge
6. Pledges by operation of law
7. A selection from the reception of the Roman law of pledge
Chapter VII The law of obligations
§ 1. Obligations in general
1. Obligations and liability
2. The law of obligations and canon law
3. Sources of obligations
4. Sources of obligations arising from contracts
A. Obligations arising from the transfer of a good (contractus re)
B. Obligations arising from words (contractus uerbis)
C. Obligations arising from writing (contractus litteris)
D. Obligations arising from consensus (contractus consensu)
5. Specific and generic obligations
6. Alternative obligations
7. Natural obligations
§ 2. Strict obligations
1. Stipulations (stipulatio)
A. A verbal contract (contractus uerbis)
B. Written stipulations?
2. Transfer and nouatio
A. The relativity of strict obligations
B. Nouatio
3. Strict securities
A. Sponsio, fidepromissio, fideiussio in Antiquity
B. Reception
C. Solidary liability (in solidum)
4. Mutuum
5. From the stipulation to English contracts
§3. Obligations e bona fide (in good faith)
1. Bona fide obligations in Antiquity
A. Actiones e bona fide
B. The exceptio doli
2. Liability for bona fide obligations according to the legists
A. Dolus and culpa lata
B. Culpa leuis
C. Culpa leuissima
D. Force majeure (uis maior)
3. The fusion of civil law and canon law in the sixteenth century
A. Good faith in all obligations
B. The enforceability of formless agreements (pacta sunt seruanda)
C. The clausula rebus sic stantibus
D. The tacit termination clause
E. Prejudice
F. The causality of obligations
G. Intention as the source of liability
Conclusion
§4. Obligations arising from delict
1. Retaliatory actions
2. The actio furti (theft)
3. The actio legis aquiliae (torts)
A. The contents of the lex aquilia
B. Extension through the broad interpretation of principal conditions
C. Extension in the case of the injuring or killing of free people
D. The aquilian claim and unjust enrichment
E. The aquilian claim in the Early Modern Period
4 Delictual liability
A. Liability for public and civil delicts
B. Guilt and intent
C. From intent to liability
5. Obligations arising from quasi-delicts
§5. Purchase-sale
1. A consensual agreement with regard to specific objects
2. The obligations of the seller (the object of the actio empti)
A. Transfer
B. Guarantee against eviction (euictio)
C. Liability for the good that has not been delivered yet
D. Liability for hidden defects
3. Clauses that can cancel a sale
4. Error (error)
§6. Locatio conductio
1. Locatio conductio rei
A. Definition
B. The parties’ obligations
C. Position of the lessee in property law
D. Remissio mercedis
2. Locatio conductio operarum (hire of services)
3. Locatio conductio operis (faciendi) (contracting for work)
§7. Donations
Chapter VIII Socio-economic law
§1. Food supply
1. In the Republic
2. In the Principate
A. Establishment of the prefecture for the distribution of grain
B. The organisation of the transport of grain
C. The promotion of large bakeries
D. During the imperial crisis
E. The late Empire
3. The reception
§2. Roman forms of partnership
1. Limited partnerships?
2. The actio institoria
3. Societas
§3. Means of payment and funding
1. Banks
2. Pecunia constituta
Conclusion
1. Roman law is not a legal system
2. Medieval jurists were not looking for ‘rational’ law
3. Roman law as Christian law?
4. Roman law as ideological law
5. 'Der Geist des römischen Rechts’
Index of legal sources
General index
