Roman Law of Obligations: A Comprehensive Guide
Roman Law of Obligations
Item 33: Long Lease and Surface
Enfiteusis
Enfiteusis is a real right, transmissible both during life (inter vivos) and upon death (mortis causa), that allows the holder to cultivate another’s land in exchange for an annual fee (rent).
Superficie
Superficie differs from a lease by allowing building on land outside the payment of an annuity, also called pensio or salarium.
Item 35: Obligatio
General Theory
According to Justinian, obligatio is a legal relationship by which we are compelled to a specific legal provision. It’s a legal bond between two people, acknowledged by Ius Civile, and enforceable through Actio Personam. Initially, only obligations established by Jus Civile were considered. Later, the praetor admitted other forms of obligations, known as honorary obligations. Obligations under Jus Civile were enforced through “Actio In Personam,” while honorary obligations were enforced through “Actio In Rem.”
There’s debate about the origin of obligations. Some believe they stem from lawful acts, while others suggest they originate from Nexum, an act where the debtor was physically subjected to the creditor to secure debt payment. Currently, it’s thought that Romans didn’t have an abstract concept of obligation, but rather viewed it as a situation of physical subjugation of the debtor to the creditor.
Sources of Obligation
Several classifications exist for the sources of obligations. Gaius classifies them as arising from either contract or crime. However, he acknowledges situations like improper payment that don’t fit these categories. Another classification by Gaius includes contract, crime, or other causes. Justinian’s era offers another classification: contract, quasi-contract, crime, and quasi-delict. Quasi-contract lacks agreement, while quasi-delict lacks blame.
Subjects of the Obligation
There’s an active subject (creditor) and a passive subject (debtor). The obligation creates rights and duties for these parties, but not for third parties. Third parties cannot be required to fulfill the obligation nor can they demand its fulfillment. Stipulations made by or for third parties are generally null. However, during Justinian’s time, stipulations for third parties gained validity in certain cases, such as when one party commits to performing a benefit for a third party.
Object of the Obligation
. Activity has to perform the debtor that is the benefit. The benefit may consist of three types of activity • Um dare: refers to any transfer of property or provision of a real right. • Um facere: refers to a Actividadas which the debtor is required. It may also involve one abstention. • Umpraestare: assume any liability or guarantee. The provision must meet a numberRequirements: • Must be possible. The failure may be physical or legal. • You must be lawful: according to the moral law. • You have to be determined or determinable: they have to be clear what criteria
for the determination. These criteria may be objective or subjective. If the criteria are subjective determination is left to a third party. Valorativo.Clasificacióp • Character property or obligations. By this classification sujeto.Dentro obligations are “Proper Rem” or outpatient. The obligations are those propter rem: in Those which the active subject orliabilities or both are determined after the birth of the obligation: – in response to an act or situation in which they are subjects. Among these ° types: are the obligations to compensate. damage caused by an animal or slave filiusfamilia. The debtor will be having ownership or authority at the time that appropriate action be undertaken by the actions perjudicado.Existen plurality of subjects, both the active and the passive part. You can also have several creditors and several debtors. Classification. • Parciaria, s: the service is divided into many parts as are the active or passive. The point is that many emerging division. obligations as there are separate subjects. Each creditor only
may require a portion of the benefit and each debtor is bound only to a SHARE of the benefit. • intercourse: a debtor is bound by all of the benefit against various creditors, or even one of variation, which are owed to a creditor . For example the obligations of Crime: several individuals committed a crime and each was obliged to pay the full sentence. If one of the debtors paid the full sentence iberica only him but other debtors not released. • Solidarity: those in which there is “active and passive subjects sticks and a single benefit, every one of the debtors is obligated to completely and each of the creditors may require entirely. The payment of a debtor ceases payments to other debtors. They are active solidarity obligations when multiple creditors and passive when
several debtors.
Also supportive are called Correale. There are several sources of solidarity :1-Contracts: stipulatio is the main source of solidarity. In this
If several debtors promise the same benefit to a creditor or
several creditors. Later consensual contracts and actual
solidaridad.2 also are a source of “The will: a source of solidarity can be passive or activa.3-law: Justinian law provides that the obligations
born of crime are “objectively solidarias.Se extinguished by payment, the agreement not to demand, the novation, the random destruction of the thing and the exhaustion of the action
the Litis Contestatio .- You can also give the extinction for a given subject. And this could happenby confusion or by Capitis Deminutio.-A problem that arises is the so-called Action or right back regreso.En classical period for such action existed there was a need for an internal relationship between the parties, ie whether they were several debtors and owners of a thing also gave them the Actio dividundo Communi. If it was a society that existed between them was given the Justinian era Actio Prosaico.En for action to be given back when there was an internal relation, had to come established by law and ended up as an general.Por ‘the object: can be several classifications of obligations. They include: • Gender: fall on objects not identified individually, but belong to a genre. For example: a certain quantity of wheat, a number of slaves, etc.. In the event that the object is destroyed accidentally warps the debtor is released under the principle non Perit Genus
. (The genre does not die). • Specific: are those ‘whose benefit obligations imposed on an individual thing and determined. In this case if the thing is destroyed
rtuitamente the debtor libera.Otra classification of obligations can be. – • Divisible: they all met without altering its economic value. Generally they are divisible obligations “Dare”, which are directed to the transfer of ownership. For example, ownership of property in which a lime trees spread their share of the thing in common. • Indivisible: The benefit can not be met by parties without altering its economic purpose. Indivisible benefits consisting of “facere”. For example: building an easement. Without clutch when lasprestaciones of “facere” shall constitute a work of fungibility can be divided by metric units, then if it is divisible. For example the construction of a wall of x meters, and that this wall can be built for partes.Otra classification is •Alternatives: are those in which the debtor has to comply with a provision of a number that identifies. The problem is to establish who choose the service they are going to do. Normally the choice of alternative is made by the debtor, unless otherwise specified. If one of the alternatives perishes obligation focuses on the remaining alternatives. • Mandatory: those in which the debtor is able to avoid the obligation to deliver an object other than that agreed. The d Difference between the obligations and optional alternative is that if the main object lasfacultativas dies accidentally, the debtor is released.
For example, if animal or causes damage to property of another person, the debtor may choose to pay or deliver to damage caused the damage, in this case the animal.
– The financial obligations are for the supply of quantities of money, not cosas.Las natural obligations are those that have no legal protection because the
creditor does not have an Actio to enforce the obligation. The main effect of this requirement is that once paid a debt, you could not claim a refund of the amount paid as due. For example: Filius debts incurred by a family or a slave.