The Institutes of Justinian

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

5983

Title

The Institutes of Justinian

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A foundational legal text outlining Roman jurisprudence, this work defines justice, natural law, and civil statutes. It guides students through the complexities of Roman society, covering family law, property rights, obligations, and criminal penalties, serving as an essential introduction to imperial legal science.

Summary up to 500 words

The Institutes of Justinian serves as a foundational primer on Roman law, systematically organized into four books to educate youth in jurisprudence. The text begins by defining justice as giving every man his due and distinguishing between the law of nature, the law of nations, and the civil law of Rome. It details the origins of private law, the roles of legal authorities like the Emperor and Senate, and the mechanisms for creating statutes. The work extensively covers the law of persons, addressing the status of freeborn citizens, freedmen, slaves, and those under guardianship. It explains the hierarchy of guardianship, from testamentary appointments to statutory guardianship by agnates, patrons, and parents, as well as the specific rules for curators. The text clarifies the conditions under which guardianship is terminated and the authority guardians hold over their pupils. Moving to property, the Institutes categorize things into corporeal and incorporeal, discussing servitudes, usufruct, and usucapion. It provides a thorough examination of succession law, detailing the execution of wills, the disinheritance of children, substitutions, and the devolution of inheritances on intestacy, including the roles of agnates, cognates, and freedmen. The text also addresses obligations, distinguishing between real, verbal, and consensual contracts, as well as stipulations and fidejussors. The final sections address obligations arising from delicts, such as robbery, injuries, and damage done by quadrupeds, alongside the duties of judges and the nature of public prosecutions. The text outlines various statutes, including those on treason, adultery, assassination, parricide, forgery, and embezzlement, emphasizing the penalties of death, infamy, and deportation. Ultimately, the Institutes aim to educate youth in the law, enabling them to govern the state with wisdom and justice, having removed inconsistencies from earlier jurisprudence to present a coherent body of imperial learning.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Classics
• Law