Human age and its importance in roman commercial law
Human age and its importance in roman commercial law

Summary/Abstract: Objectives: Within the commercial law the most important regulations are those which define when and what kind of business activities could be undertaken. In every legal system, regardless of whether we mean antique or modern law, there have always been and there are regulations that have specific effects depending on the age of a given person. Such regulations are known in all contemporary legal systems of the world in every branch of law. In the presented article the author has elaborated the influence of human age on persons’ trade rights in ancient Rome. Consequently it has occurred that in Roman law there were two age limits which played a significant role in commerce. The first one was the age of 14 years when a boy got full legal capacity, and the second one was the age of 25 years when he was becoming fully independent from any restrictions and special protection. Material and methods: Materials - ancient legal sources e.g. Roman legal texts etc., books, articles, Methods - critique analysis Results: Comparative remarks between Roman law and modern Polish law was achieved. Conclusions: Commercial rights are incorporated in private right, so there should not be any differentiation when we talk about availability to run business. But in practice, in ancient Rome gaining full legal capacity with the day of 14th birthday was not enough to act successfully in the trade market as a business partner. Such possibility was coming when a person reached the age of 25 years and become able to act independently. In modern Poland, even though limited legal capacity is sufficient to undertake legal acts with the consent of legal guardians, acting in business effectively with all necessary concessions and licenses, is possible if a person has full legal capacity.

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