Principles of Relationship

Roman conception of a family was not always the same. According to the Jus Civile the constitution of a family was determined by a peculiar principle of relationship known as agnation; in the final stage of Roman law it was determined by a wholly different principle known as cognation. We shall consider first the earlier form, or the agnatic family of the Jus Civile.

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Contracts Stricti Juris and Bonae Fidei

There were some contracts in Roman law which gave rise to a definite and precise liability (certa obligatio) and which bound the parties to an exact performance of that which they promised, but which were fully discharged by exact and literal performance. These contracts were called stricti juris negotia . Other contracts required the parties to perform not only what they had actually promised, but also whatever else would be fair and reasonable in the circumstances of the particular case. They gave rise, therefore, to an uncertain obligation (incerta obligaitio) which would vary more or less with the circumstances of the case. Contracts of the latter class were called bone fidei negotia (Sohm, 367).
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Classification of Persons

The Roman law distinguished three kinds of personal status, or degree of legal capacity, and classified human beings with respect thereto as follows: ( 1 ) The status of Freedom ( libertatis ) according to which persons were either free ( liberi ) or slaves ( servi ). Free persons were either freeborn ( ingenui ) or freedmen ( libertini ). ( 2 ) The status of Citizenship ( civitatis ), according to which freemen were either Roman citizens ( cives ) or aliens ( peregrini ). ( 3 ) The status of Family ( familiae ), according to which citizens were either independent ( sui juris ) or subject to the authority of another ( alieni juris ). Among the Romans legal capacity was the exception, as among modern nations it is the rule. Even free persons enjoying the status of citizens were usually in some condition of subordination or dependence in respect to their family relations. The only person fully independent was the head of a family, or paterfamilias, above the age of twenty-five year...
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Commodatum (Loan for Use)

A commodatum was a loan of property for the use of the borrower. It arose whenever one person (the commodator ) delivered a thing to another (the commodatorius ) for the latter's gratuitous use. It was a contract of praetorian origin and a bona fidei negotium both parties being bound to do everything required by good faith. The contract was made by the mere delivery of the property for the contemplated use. The borrower did not become the owner of the property, he got merely the right as against the lender, to the use of the property. Hence a person not the owner of the property — even a thief — could give a thing in commodatum. The transaction was gratuitous if the borrower was to pay for the use, it was a contract of hire. The borrower was required to exercise the highest care ( omnis or exacta diligentia ), to take as good care of the thing lent as a good paterfamilias would bestow, not merely such care as the particular borrower usually bestowed upon hi...
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