Fundamentals of Roman Private Law

Roman law forms a vital part of the intellectual background of many legal systems currently in force in Continental Europe, Latin America, East Asia and other parts of the world. Knowledge of Roman law, therefore, constitutes an essential component of a s

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George Mousourakis

Fundamentals of Roman Private Law

George Mousourakis Faculty of Law University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand

ISBN 978-3-642-29310-8 ISBN 978-3-642-29311-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-29311-5 Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012941640 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

To the memory of Neil MacCormick, teacher and friend

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Preface

Roman law, as transmitted through the sixth century codification of Emperor Justinian, forms an important part of the intellectual background of many legal systems currently in force in Europe, Latin America, Asia and other parts of the world. Justinian sought to produce, on the basis of the legal heritage of ancient Rome, an authoritative statement of the law of his own day. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, however, his system (Corpus Iuris Civilis) was adopted through a process known as ‘Reception’ and applied as the basis of the common law (ius commune) of Continental Europe. The growth of the modern nation-state and the unification of national law through codification in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries engendered the eventual displacement of the ius commune, and thus Roman law