Roman Law

## Roman Law

Roman law is the foundation of the civil-law tradition across continental Europe and remains a compulsory subject in **Oxford Mods (FHS Jurisprudence)** and many UK LLB programmes. Two primary sources structure the introductory syllabus:

### Institutes of Gaius (c. 160 AD) The earliest surviving institutional textbook. Organised under the tripartite scheme: persons, things, actions. Provides the clearest window into classical Roman law before the Justinianic codification.

### Institutes of Justinian (533 AD) Promulgated under Emperor Justinian I as part of the **Corpus Juris Civilis**. Adapts Gaius' tripartite scheme and reflects post-classical Roman law. Together with the **Digest** and **Codex** it forms the basis of every modern civil-law system.

### Core concepts - *Persons*: status (libertas, civitas, familia), free vs. slave, citizen vs. peregrine - *Things*: res mancipi vs. nec mancipi, ownership (dominium), possession (possessio), modes of acquisition (mancipatio, traditio, usucapio, occupatio, accessio, specificatio) - *Obligations*: ex contractu, ex delicto, quasi-contractus, quasi-delictum - *Actions*: real (in rem) vs. personal (in personam), formulary procedure - *Family law*: patria potestas, manus, peculium, emancipatio

Both Institutes are public-domain texts. Use this hub to access full texts, brief outlines, flashcards, quizzes and past-paper questions.