Illegal Promises

A promise to do anything contrary to law, good morals, or public policy, was void, for example, a promise to commit murder or sacrilege or theft.

Numerous examples occur in the Digest setting forth the Roman conception of morality and public policy.

Thus a promise that one of the parties to a contract should not be responsible for his wilful acts and defaults was void, as was also a promise to give a sum of money if the promisor did not make the promisee his heir, it being discreditable to be casting eyes on a living man's inheritance.

A stipulation "If I marry you, will you give me 10 aurei?" was void unless the money was intended as a dowry, because it introduced a mercenary element into marriage.

And a stipulation "If a divorce occurs by your fault, will you give me 10 aurei?" was void because it interfered with the freedom of divorce, and because also the parties ought to be content with the penalties for divorce fixed by law.

But a promise in such case not exceeding the legal penalties was valid. An agreement to conduct a lawsuit for another for a share of the amount recovered was void, but money might be loaned at not more than the lawful interest to support a suit 1.

1 William Alexander Hunter. A Systematic and Historical Exposition of Roman Law in the Order of a Code. p.600-601.

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Effects of Marriage with Manus

By the strict marriage the wife passed into the marital power of her husband {in manum viri). The manus or marital power may be regarded as a particular form of the patria potestas. An uxor in manu was a member of her husband's household. Although called a materfamilias, this term did not have a meaning corresponding to the term paterfamilias. The wife was not the head of the family. She stood legally in the position of a daughter {in loco filiafamilias) of her husband. If she had children she was regarded as a sister of her own children. The relation of husband and wife, both as regards the wife's person and her property, was governed by the same rules of law as governed the relation of father and child. The law of husband and wife may, therefore, be considered as merely a particular branch of the law of parent and child. The husband had, in general, the same power over the person of his wife in manu as the father had over his child. Anciently, it may be suppo...
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Slavery by Birth

The children of a female slave became the slaves of her master. The status of the father as free or slave was immaterial. The general rule governing the determination of the status of a child, whether as free or slave, or as citizen or alien, was as follows : Children born in lawful wedlock had the status of the father at the moment of conception, children born out of wedlock had the status of the mother at the moment of birth. Hence if the father of a child of a lawful marriage was free at the moment of conception, the child was free although the father should subsequently lose his freedom. As to children born out of wedlock, the general rule, as above stated, was that it was the status of the mother at the moment of birth that determined the status of the child. If the mother was free at the moment of conception but a slave at the moment of birth, the child was a slave, and conversely. This was the earlier law, but the rule was modified in the interest of liber...
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Mandate (Mandatum)

Mandate (mandatum) was a contract by which one person mandatarius agreed to do something gratuitously at the request of another mandator , who, on his part, agreed to save him harmless from all loss in so doing. The mandator was said to give the mandatory a mandate, or commission to do the act in question. The term mandatum is sometimes translated "agency", but this translation is misleading. The mandatory is not properly described as an agent. Mandate was the only gratuitous consensual contract; the others, sale, hiring, and partnership, all being founded upon a consideration. Like the others, it was a bona fidei negotium , and bound the parties to do all that was required by good faith. It was of the essence of the contract of mandate that the mandatory should act gratuitously. But while this was true in a strict legal sense, it was allowed to agree upon a sum to be paid as a honorium , or salary, which might be recovered only by a special action and not b...
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