Lex as an “agreement”? Preliminary remarks under Dig. I 3.1 Cover Image

Lex jako „umowa”? Uwagi na podstawie Dig. I 3.1 [str. 140-153]
Lex as an “agreement”? Preliminary remarks under Dig. I 3.1

Author(s): Radosław Zych
Subject(s): History, Ancient World
Published by: Instytut Historyczny Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego

Summary/Abstract: Analysis of the source: Dig. I 3.1, does not allow readers to conclude that the nature of the lex was an “agreement”. Dig. I 3.1 seemed to refer to sponsio, because – according to R. Sohm – it has evolved from the religious act. I believe that the Old Roman sponsio “imposed” by Papinianus in Book one of the Definitiones on the Republican lex was to emphasize its importance in Roman law. From Dig. I 3.1 does not follow that the lex was a “contract” between citizens and the state. In my view, an intention in using the term sponsio in Dig. I 3.1 was to emphasize the need to comply with an order under the will of the legislator, even when it was not the same people at comitia centuriata.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 140-153
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish
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