Roman Private Law

A detailed schedule (Ablaufplan) for this course is available in German only ...

Wednesday, 8:30-10, C 22

Course Description

This course will be dedicated to Roman private law. Private law is the most important branch of Roman law, because it is in the area of private law that Roman influence on modern legal system (esp. on the European continent) is most significant. The German civil code shows Roman influence to an extraordinary extent. It has been characterised as a textbook on the pandects in the form of a statute. (The pandects are a collection of Roman law from the 6th century AD.)

The focus of the course will be on the classical period of Roman law (first to third centuries AD). During this period, Roman legal science developped many rules and concepts, which are still of central importance in modern civil law systems. Among those concepts rooted in Roman law are those of contract, obligation and real rights.

The course is primarily aimed at students of the third semester. It is, however, to all students interested to deepen their knowledge of Roman Law. ERASMUS students can take an oral exam at the end of the semester. Please contact me by December if you wish to take an oral exam.

Suggested Reading

For a ist of literature in German please refer to the German version of this page. If you are interested in an English textbook covering the suibject matter of this course, take a look at the follwing work:

  • Andrew Borkowski, Paul Du Plessis, Textbook on Roman Law, 3rd ed., 2005. Library Shelfmark (1st ed., 1994): wa12935

 A detailed schedule (Ablaufplan) for this course is available in German only ...