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Cover

A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts

Bruce W. Frier

Publication Date - 09 June 2021

ISBN: 9780197573228

568 pages
Paperback
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches

In Stock

A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts introduces students to the rich and influential body of Roman law concerning contracts between private individuals.

Description

Roman contract law has profoundly influenced subsequent legal systems throughout the world, but is inarguably an important subject in its own right. This casebook introduces students to the rich body of Roman law concerning contracts between private individuals.

In order to bring out the intricacy of Roman contract law, the casebook employs the case-law method--actual Roman texts, drawn from Justinian's Digest and other sources, are presented both in Latin and English, along with introductions and discussions that fill out the background of the cases and explore related legal issues. This method reflects the casuistic practices of the jurists themselves: concentrating on the fact-rich environment in which contracts are made and enforced, while never losing sight of the broader principles upon which the jurists constructed the law.

The casebook concentrates especially on stipulation and sale, which are particularly well represented in surviving sources. Beyond these and other standard contracts, the book also has chapters on the capacity to contract, the creation of third-party rights and duties, and the main forms of unjustified enrichment. What students can hope to learn from this casebook is not only the general outlines and details of Roman contract law, but also how the jurists developed such law out of rudimentary civil procedures.

An online teacher's manual is available for instructors; to access it, see page xxi of the Casebook.

Features

  • Aims to bring students into direct contact with Roman legal sources
  • Examines Roman law concerning contracts between private individuals
  • Concentrates on stipulation and sale, the capacity to contract, the creation of third-party rights and duties, and the main forms of unjustified enrichment
  • An online teacher's manual is available for instructors; to access it, see page xxi of the Casebook

About the Author(s)

Bruce W. Frier is John and Teresa D'Arms Distinguished University Professor of Classics and Roman Law at the University of Michigan. His publications include A Casebook on the Roman Law of Delict, A Casebook on Roman Family Law (with Thomas A. J. McGinn), and The Modern Law of Contracts (with J. J. White). He is also the general editor of the annotated translation of The Codex of Justinian.

Reviews

"This casebook on the Roman law of contracts is a welcome addition to the author's existing body of casebooks on various aspects of Roman private law. It will be an invaluable teaching tool and, like the other casebooks, will no doubt be wildly popular with students and teachers alike." -- Paul J. du Plessis, University of Edinburgh

"This book fills a gap in the existing selection of Casebooks on Roman private law. Highlights include chapters on individual contracts or types of contracts, such as stipulation, real contracts, sale and the other consensual contracts, plus a series of special problems in this area of the law. The volume offers an unparalleled resource for teaching and research, of interest to classicists as well as to legal and economic historians." -- Thomas McGinn, Vanderbilt University

Table of Contents

    Preface for Students
    Introduction to Roman Contract Law
    Chapter I. Capacity to Contract
    Chapter II. Stipulation: A Formal Contract
    Chapter III. Contracts Created Through Delivery (“Real Contracts”)
    Chapter IV. Sale: A Contract Created Through Informal Agreement
    Chapter V. Other Consensual Contracts: Problems in Execution
    Chapter VI. Filling in the Gaps: Contracts Created Through One Party's Performance
    Chapter VII. Third Party Rights and Responsibilities
    Chapter VIII. Quasi-Contract
    Glossary
    Short Biographies of the Jurists
    Suggested Further Reading
    Index of Sources

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