This course offers students an introduction to Roman law. It covers the Roman legal system, the law of persons, the law of property and inheritance as well as the law of obligations. The course concludes with a reflection on Roman law and the modern world, focusing in particular on the legacy of Justinian’s codification of Roman Law in the ‘Dark Ages’ and Roman Law’s second life. In this respect, it addresses the ways in which the historical evolution of modern systems has been affected by Roman law.
In the final pages of his masterpiece Roman Law in European History (see under course literature below) Peter Stein writes: “When, after the collapse of communism, the countries of Eastern Europe were concerned to re-establish their credentials as participants in the tradition of Western legal culture, they revived the study of Roman law and gave it more prominence in the curricula of law faculties.” This course is an attempt to fill that particular lacuna in RGSL’s Bachelor’s Programme.- Teacher: Tjaco Theo van den Hout