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Studying Roman Law by Paul J. du Plessis is an introductory guide aimed at sixth-formers, students and those with a general interest wishing to obtain a basic overview of Roman private law during the first three centuries of the Common Era. It is not meant to be a replacement for more comprehensive and technical manuals on Roman law, but should rather be seen as introductory reading. It contains a basic overview of the sources of Roman private law and a guide to their use together with a survey of the main areas of the law using primary sources in translation. It also explains the different contexts in which these rules arose and operated as well as the mechanisms by which they were enforced against the backdrop of one of the most sophisticated and influential legal systems of the ancient world.
Studying Roman Law by Paul J. du Plessis was written chiefly as a brief guide for those wishing to obtain a basic overview of the state of Roman private law during the first three centuries of the Common Era. It should not be treated as a substitute for a technical manual on Roman law and it was not written for that purpose. As a work of an introductory nature, it does not contain a detailed account of all of the intricacies and technicalities of Roman legal rules as there are many excellent recent works on the subject. Rather, this book is aimed at a nonspecialist audience wishing to gain a basic introduction to the subject before progressing to more specialist works. This book focuses solely on Roman private law, the body of legal rules which operate between individuals, as this is the most commonly studied area of Roman law. It must not be forgotten that a rich body of Roman public and criminal law also exists which are fields of study in their own right.
Table of Contents
Timeline
Preface
Translations and Abbreviations
Sources and methods
‘Persons’
‘Things’
Property
Obligations
Succession
‘Actions’
Bibliography