Cosureties

Until the time of the Emperor Hadian (A. D. 117-138) if there were two or more cosureties for the same debt, each was liable to the creditor for the whole amount, and a surety who was required to pay the debt could not call upon his cosureties for contribution. He could, however, before paying the debt, require the creditor to transfer to him his rights of action against the other sureties, and thus secure contribution.

Technically, the payment of the debt would extinguish it, and as there was only one debt for which all the sureties were liable, there would remain no rights of action against the other sureties after one surety had paid the debt. There would, therefore, be nothing to transfer. To avoid this difficulty, it was considered that the surety who paid the debt did not pay it, but rather bought the creditor's rights against the other sureties, and accordingly he could not be required to pay without a surrender of the creditor's rights against the other sureties. And the transfer, or an agreement therefor, must take place before the payment, or the payment would be considered as such and extinguish the debt and with it all rights against the cosureties.

The Emperor Hadian provided that a surety sued for the debt could compel the creditor to sue for only the. defendant's proportionate share as determined by the number of sureties who were solvent when the suit was brought, the share of insolvent sureties being divided among the others.

A surety who omitted to take advantage of this privilege and paid the whole debt had no right of contribution.

(As to suretyship, see Gains 3, 115-127; Inst. Ill, 20; Hunter, 565-579; Sohm, 384.)

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Curators

By the Roman law a male became of age for all purposes upon reaching the age of puberty. Females, at least under the older law, never attained full legal capacity. Plainly, however, a law which gave to a boy of fourteen full power to manage his own affairs was unsafe for him, and modifications were introduced from time to time for his protection. By an early law of uncertain date passed for the relief of minors (le.r Plcetoria), they were permitted to apply to the prsetor for the appointment of a form of guardian known as a curator, who would be appointed on proof of the minor's incapacity to manage his own affairs. And in time it became the rule for magistrates to appoint a curator upon the minor's application. But a minor above the age of puberty could not be compelled to have a curator, except when, on being sued, he neglected or refused to apply for a curator, in which case a curator would be appointed on petition of the plaintiff to defend the suit. The du
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The Several Kinds of Tutors

(1) Testamentary Tutors. These were appointed by the will of the deceased paterfamilias of the pupil. This mode of appointment was authorized by the Twelve Tables. ( 2) Statutory Tutors. These succeeded to the tutela by virtue of the provisions of the Twelve Tables or of some other Statute, but only if there were no testamentary tutors. They were called legitimi tutor es. They were the agnates (by Justinian's legislation, the nearest of kin, whether agnates or cognates) who in case of the death of the pupil would succeed to his inheritance. They were appointed upon the principle that those who had the advantage of the inheritance ought to bear the burden of the tutela (ubi entolumentum successionis ibi et onus tutelcs). In this connection may be mentioned also the guardianship of the patron over his freedman, and of the father over his emancipated child. (3) In the absence of a testamentary or statutory tutor, power was ' given to certain magistrates to appoint
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Nexum

This was an ancient contract made by the ceremony of mancipation per aes et libram . Very little is known about it. Its application seems to have been very narrow, perhaps limited to the contract of loan. It was obsolete from a very early date.
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