INTRODUCTION

On entering law school, the beginning student will often be presented with a timetable that includes the study of Roman law. For many others, Roman law will be an optional subject in their degree programme.

One answer to this question lies in the general historical importance of Rome in European history. The dominant position of Rome and its empire for so many centuries certainly justifies the attention of anyone who considers history important. The law of Rome, as perhaps the most out­standing product of that civilisation, deserves a special place in any account of the history of Rome. The development of a sophisticated system of law was much more advanced among the Romans than anywhere else in the ancient world. The beginner may well be surprised by how like modern legal works the Roman texts look. For this reason, even in countries where the direct influence of Roman law has been limited the study of Roman law is seen as valuable in developing legal thinking in students.

Of more immediate relevance to the modern law student, though, is the fact that the private law of Rome is not simply a matter of purely historical interest. Unlike any other ancient system of law, Roman law survived into later history and came to form the basis of many modern systems. Thus, for Scots law, it may be said that in many areas the influence of Roman law is so great that they cannot be fully understood without a proper understand­ing of their Roman basis. This may even understate the case somewhat, for Roman law is still a living source of law in Scotland today, with Roman authorities not infrequently being cited before the Scottish courts. The im­portance of knowledge of Roman law to the Scots lawyer is such that it is a prerequisite for admission to the Faculty of Advocates. An attempt has been made here to give some idea of the continuing importance of Roman legal rules and principles by including, at the end of the relevant chapters, brief details of selected modern cases in which they have been used.

The main purpose of this book, though, is to give an introductory overview of the main institutions of Roman private law, together with an outline of its later history. For the most part, public law is not covered, as by far the greater part of the Roman influence on later law was in respect of private law. However, Roman law cannot be fully understood without an understanding of the historical context in which it developed. For this reason, the remainder of this chapter is devoted to an outline of the history and constitution of the Roman state.