Digest (Roman law)

The Pandects (. . Griech of / lat Pandectae, " All-encompassing "), even Digests (from Latin digesta, " Parent " ), are a late antique compilation from the works of Roman law scholar; they form the most important part of our tradition of Roman law ( Corpus Juris Civilis see ). The method by which these texts were considered in Germany in the 19th century, the Pandektenwissenschaft.

Formation

The digests were ( 527-565 ) proclaimed the end of 533 AD by Emperor Justinian in Constantinople Opel as applicable law. They are written in Latin, then in the predominantly Greek East of the Roman Empire is still the language of law and administration. An attempt to explain their emergence and functioning of the lawyers of Justinian, offers the Bluhm'sche mass theory.

Outline / citation

The digests are divided into 50 books, which in turn in title. Each title focuses on a topic. For example, is the first title of the 41st book of acquisition of ownership ( De rerum dominio adquirendo ), the first title of the 17th book of the order ( [ De actione ] mandati vel contra ).

The titles themselves divided into fragments, also called leges. Since these leges are in part very long, you have once again divided in the Middle Ages leges in paragraphs. This is the first section of a lex as principium (Latin for " beginning ", abbreviated pr. ) Denotes the second is number 1

A Digest site you cited today ( in the Middle Ages quoted quite different ) usually with four numbers in the book refers to the first, the second title, the lex third and fourth paragraphs. " D. 17,1,26,3 " therefore refers to the third section of the lex 26 in the first title of the 17th book of the Digest. The term principium means the first section and "§ 1" the second.

In the Middle Ages they told the Digest into four parts one: The Digestum vetus ( book 1 to book 24 tit 2. ), The Infortiatum (Book 24 Book 35 tit tit 3 to 2 § 82. . ), The tres partes (Book 35 tit. 2 § 83 to book 38) and the Digestum novum (Book 39-50 ).

Content

The Digests contain, together with the Codex Justinian and the Institutiones, the entire private law and those parts of the criminal law, which from 533 AD, the Roman Empire, that is, before the conquests of Justinian, effectively performing only in the East should apply.

The classicism of Justinian led to this current law of the 6th century should be the same in the nucleus by the classical Roman law as it had developed primarily to the 3rd century AD. This goal was trying to achieve, were collected by the writings of older Roman jurists in the Digest and ranked according to content. It was used excerpts from the writings of different character and of lawyers who had lived at different times. Thus, the lex 1 of Title 17.1 mandati vel contra comes from the lawyers Paul, who lived AD at the beginning of the 3rd century; the lex 2 comes from lawyers Gaius, who was AD in the middle of the 2nd century; the lex 6 is from Ulpian, a contemporary of Paul; the lex about 30 comes from Julian, who was consul 148 AD.

In this approach, then of course had to be partially modified the content of the extracts. Repetitions and contradictions in the writings whose authors had produced as often written off each other like controversies were to strike. And, of course, was the right of the 1st century BC, not just apply all classical tendencies in spite of the 6th century AD; so it was necessary to make corresponding adjustments: It is famous as eradication of mancipatio.

Interpolations

This contains a fragment of Julian, as we find it in the Digests, not necessarily the text that Julian has really written in the 2nd century AD. Will not you know, what should be considered a right because of the Digest in the late late antiquity, but one wonders what Julian himself wrote or was the law in the second century in Rome, one therefore faces the problem that conscious text changes the jurists Justinian have made to the original text Julians. Such deliberate changes to the text are called interpolations. To complicate the extraction of the text Julians, if you drop the assumption Moreover, the jurists Justinian I after 400 years and after multiple depreciation and commentaries of the text actually been present nor the original text Julians.

Tradition

The digests are now down to us primarily through the Littera Florentina. In the High Middle Ages they were rediscovered along with the Codex Justinian in Italy and deployed a significant effect.

Fort effect

The rediscovery of the Digest in the 12th century led to the European efforts to valid legal verschriftlichen.

From the 17th century until then largely unquestioned validity of the Pandects been increasingly discussed by a number of scholars. In the 19th century, the Pandects were explored in as historical jurisprudence reinforced historically. Result was a departure from the connection Pandekten and natural law and a high abstraction level of jurisprudence. The Civil Code and the General Civil Code ( Civil Code) are, among others, a result of Pandektenwissenschaft this time.

See also: Corpus iuris Civilis, littera Florentina