Personality in Roman Private Law

251 Pages·1938·11.219 MB·English

by  Patrick William Duff

PERSONALITY IN
ROMAN PRIVATE LAW
PERSONALITY IN
ROMAN PRIVATE LAW
by
P. W. DUFF
Of Lincoln's Inn,
Barrister-at-law;
Fellow of Trinity College
Cambridge
AUGUSTUS M. KELLEY * PUBLISHERS
New York, New York
ROTHMAN REPRINTS, INC.
South Hackensack, New Jersey
197'
First Published 1938
(London: Cambridge University Press)
Reprinted 1971 By
AUGUSTUS M. KELLEY * PUBLISHERS
1140 BROADWAY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10001
ROTHMAN REPRINTS, INC.
57 LEUNING STREET
SOUTH HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY 07606
By Arrangement with
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
ISBN o 678 04544 5
Library of Congress Catalogue Code Number
70- 138536
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ly SENTRY PRESS, NEW YORK, N. Y. 10019
To
L. E. D.
CONTENTS
PREFACE PAGE iX
CHAPTER I. Persona, Caput, Corpus, Universitas I
IV. Populus and Fiscus 51
Towns 62
IV. Collegia: the lus Coeundi 95
V. Collegia and Corporate Capacity 129
VI. Societates Publicanorum '59
Hereditas lacens 162
VIII. Charities 168
Ix. Roman Law and Legal Personality 206
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL TEXTS 237
INDEX OF SUBJECTS 239
PREFACE
The following pages are an attempt to find out what
Roman lawyers thought about juristic Personality, about
the right of corporations and other entities to own pro-
perty and bring law-suits. This right was certainly ex-
tended from individuals to towns and voluntary associa-
tions, and perhaps further. But the Romans did not
theorise about it, and their ideas must be deduced partly
from their language, and more from the rules laid down in
law books and the practice we find in literary records and
inscriptions. A final chapter discusses whether the
ancient Roman law of Personality has any lessons for the
present day.
The. modern books I used most in writing the first
draft, fourteen years ago, were Mitteis, Ramisches Privat-
recht, Saleilles, De la Personnalitij uridique, Mommsen,
De Collegiis et Sodaliciis Romanorum, and Waltzing, Les
Corporationsp rofessionnelles chez les Romains. It would be
impertinent for me to praise any of them, but it must be
said that if I seem to differ from these authorities more
often than I agree with them, that is because I never differ
from them without trying to justify myself, whereas I
constantly accept their doctrines without mentioning
their names.
A more recent work of great value and importance is
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Geschichte der juristischen Person,
vol. 1, 1933. This book is much longer than mine and
differently arranged, but vol. i, the only one yet published,
corresponds roughly to my chapters i, iv and v. There are
very few points on which I have changed my mind after
reading Schnorr von Carolsfeld; for the most part we have
come independently to the same conclusions; but he has
collected and presented a vast mass of fresh evidence. The
labour of sifting such a multitude of authorities must
have been very arduous; and it is none the less valuable
because it tends to confirm established opinions rather
than to upset them.
X PREFACE
A book I did not come across till after mine was in
proof is G. Kruger, Die Rechtstellung der vorkonstanti-
nischen Kirchen, 1935. I cannot accept the author's view
that Christian congregations were lawful and authorised
as collegia cultorum, not funeraticia, as early as the second
century; but her extensive quotations from the Church
Fathers show that the episcopal administration we find
under Justinian was already well developed before the
time of Constantine. Some interesting general observa-
tions, especially on the Western forerunners of the
Byzantine charities, may also be found in "Les institu-
tions d'assistance dans la socidtd romano-byzantine du
ive sidcle h Justinien", by P. Laborderie-Boulou, in
Revue Gindrale du Droit, de la Ligislation et de la 7uris-
prudence en France et J l'itranger, vol. LIX, 1935-
Greek and Egyptian law are outside my scope. I should
have liked to follow up the pioneer work of San Nicolb,
Agyptisches Vereinswesen, but decided it would take me too
far afield. Consequently I cite very few papyri, and those
Byzantine. For guiding me to them I have to thank Dr
H. I. Bell.
Much space has been saved by not recording that a text
has been suspected of interpolation unless the suspicion
seemed reasonable and the interpolation substantial.
Thanks are due to many friends for their assistance, and
especially to Professor W. W. Buckland, who originally
suggested the subject, read the book both in manuscript
and in proof, and has for fifteen years given me constant
help and encouragement; to Professor L. Wenger, who
read the work as it was in 1925 and made many valuable
comments; to His Honour Judge Dowdall, who gave me
some references for the word persona; and to Mr F. H.
Lawson, Dr D. Daube and Dr K. Lipstein, who have
helped me on particular points or told me of books and
articles I might otherwise have missed.
P.W.D.
CAMBRIDGE
March 1938
LIST OF BOOKS AND PERIODICALS CITED
BY A MUCH ABBREVIATED TITLE OR
REQUIRING AN INDICATION OF
THE EDITION USED
Albertario: Actio de Universitate e Actio Specialis in Rem, E. Albertario,
1919.
Brinz: Lehrbuch der Pandekten, A. Brinz.
Bruns: Fontes luris Romani Antiqui, ed. C. G. Bruns, 7th ed., 0. Graden-
witz, 1909.
Buckland: A Text-book of Roman Law from Augustus to Justinian, W. W.
Buckland, and ed., 1932.
Buckland, Slavery: The Roman Law of Slavery, W. W. Buckland, 1908.
Bull. Ist. dir. rom.: Bullettino dell' Istituto di diritto romano.
C.: Codex lustinianus.
C. I. G.: Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum.
C. I. L.: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum.
C. Th.: Codex Theodosianus, ed. Th. Mommsen, 1905.
Consultatio: Veteris cuiusdam iureconsulti consultatio, ed. B. Kabler, in
lurisp. Anteiust. II. 2, 6th ed., 1927.
Cugia: 11 Termine "Piae Causae", S. Cugia, in Studi giuridici in onore di
Carlo Fadda, vol. v, 1906.
D.: Digesta lustiniani.
Duff, Charitable Foundations:T he Charitable Foundations of Byzantium,
P. W. Duff, in Cambridge Legal Essays presented to Doctor Bond,
Professor Buckland and Professor Kenny, 1926.
Ephem.: Ephemeris Epigraphica, Corporis Inscriptionum Latinarum
Supplementum, 1872-1913-
G.: Gai Institutiones, ed. B. Kabler, 1935-
Gierke, Genossenschaftsrecht: Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, 0.
Gierke.
Girard, Manuel: Manuel 6ldmentaire de droit romain, P. F. Girard, 8th
ed., F. Senn, 1929.
-- Textes: Textes de droit romain, ed. P. F. Girard, th ed., 1923*
5
Halm: Rhetores Latini Minores, ed. C. Halm, 1863*
Herman: Zum kirchlichen Benefizialwesen im Byzantinischen Reich, E.
Herman, in Studia et Documenta Historiae et luris, vol. in, Rome,
1937-
XII LIST OF BOOKS AND PERIODICALS
Heumann-Seckel: Heumanns Handlexikon zu den Quellen des r6mischen
Rechts, 9th ed., E. Seckel, 1907.
Inst.: Institutiones lustiniani.
lurisp. Anteiust.: lurisprudentiae Anteiustinianae Reliquiae, ed. P. E.
Huschke, 6th ed., E. Seckel and B. Kubler.
Jdrs: Ramisches Recht: Geschichte und System des rbmischen Privat-
rechts, P. Jors, 1927.
Kornemann: Collegium, Kornemann, in Pauly-Wissowa, 1901.
Lachmann: Gromatici Veteres ex recensione Caroli Lachmanni: Die
Schriften der r6mischen Feldmesser, herausgegeben und erlautert von
F. Blume, K. Lachmann und A. RudorIf, vol. i, 1848.
Lenel: Das Edictum Perpetuum, 0. Lenel, 3rd ed., 1927.
L.Q.R.: Law Quarterly Review.
Maitland, PoliticalT heories: Translator's Introduction to Political Theories
of the Middle Age, 0. Gierke, tr. F. W. Maitland, 900.
-- Trust and Corporation:o riginally published in Granhut's Zeitschrift
for das Privat- und OFentliche Recht, vol. xxxi, 1904; reprinted in
The Collected Papers of F. W. Maitland, vol. i, 191; and in
Maitland, Selected Essays, 1936.
Maspero: Catalogue Gdndral des Antiquitis tgyptiennes du Musde du
Caire, Papyrus Grecs d'dpoque byzantine, Jean Maspero, 191T-13.
Mitteis: R6misches Privatrecht bis auf die Zeit Diokletians, L. Mitteis,
vol. i, 1908.
Mommsen, De Collegiis: De Collegiis et Sodaliciis Romanorum, Th.
Mommsen, 1843.
Oxy. Pap.: The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt,
1898- .
P. or P. Stnt.: Pauli Sententiae.
Pauly-Wissowa: Paulys Real-Encyclopidie der classischen Altertums-
wissenschaft, ed. G. Wissowa.
Saleilles: De la Personnalith juridique, R. Saleilles, 2nd ed., 1922.
Savigny: System des heutigen R6mischen Rechts, F. C. von Savigny,
184o-48.
Schlossmann: Persona und IHpdoawrov im Recht und im christlichen
Dogma, S. Schlossmann, 1906.
Schnorr von Carolsfeld: Geschichte der juristischen Person, L. Schnorr
von Carolsfeld, vol. I, 1933-
Thulin: Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum, ed. C. Thulin, vol. i, fasc. I,
1913-
U.: Ulpiani liber singularis regularum.
LIST OF BOOKS AND PERIODICALS Xiii
Waltzing: etude historique sur les Corporations professionnelles chez les
Romains, J.-P. Waltzing, 4 vols., 1895-1900.
Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, B. Windscheid, 8th ed., Th.
Kipp, 3 vols., 1900-1.
Z.8.8.: Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte, Romanis-
tische Abteilung.
References to the Corpus luris Civilis are to the Berlin Stereotype edition.