In Part One of this book, we considered the wider context in which the study of Roman law is set. This included, in Chapter 4, the influence of Roman law on later law, up to the present day.
The rest of the book focuses on the part of Roman law that has been most influential on later law, and which is most often studied, namely Roman private law. Private law is the law governing relations between persons, whereas public law is the law governing relations between perÂsons and the state.
Private law can itself be divided into a number of parts. As we saw in Chapter 3,[370] [371] the jurist Gaius divided private law into three parts: the law of persons, the law of things and the law of actions. This is known as the ‘instiÂtutional scheme', and is the scheme on which Gaius' introductory textbook, the Institutes, is organised. The law of actions is the law governing the enforcement of rights, and was considered in Chapter 2.2 It remains, therefore, to consider the law of persons and the law of things.Part Two of the book is concerned then with the law of persons. It considÂers the different ways in which a person's legal status may affect their rights and obligations. This part of Roman law was very influential in the formative period of Scots law, particularly through its influence on the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. Its continuing influence is rather less, as much of the ground covered in the law of persons is now governed by modern statutes. Nonetheless, there are certain points in which Roman sources are of continuing importance.
Part Two begins in Chapter 5 by considering the meaning of the term ‘perÂson' in a legal context. Chapters 6 to 8 focus on, respectively, the legal institutions of slavery, parenthood and marriage. Finally, Chapter 9 considers the issues that arise when one person acts on another's behalf.