In the history of jurisprudence, "Institutions" as an integral part of the code of Justinian is the most important component in the codification of Roman law. They became part of the Corpus iuris civilis, created by decree of Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantium. Their text is based on the "Institutions" of the famous jurist Gaius, created by him in the 2nd century. At the same time, the works of other authors of the 2nd-3rd centuries were also used. We are talking about Ulpian, Marcian and Florentine.
General information
The book was compiled by Tribonian, Theophilus and Dorotheus, presenting it to the emperor on November 21, 533. This day is the day of their official publication. And the day of entry into force is December 30, 533. The entry into force of the document was regulated by the special constitution of Justinian. Conventionally, it was called Imperatoriam. He called the publication "our institutions" or "our laws". Although the emperor himself in the preparation of the book of participationdid not accept, the collection was published on his behalf.
The Institutions, as part of Justinian's codification, is a textbook on Roman law intended for first-year students. However, it differs from Guy's textbook in that it has legal force.
Basic structure borrowed from Guy. 4 books are divided into titles. As for modern editions, there is also a division into paragraphs. Shortly after the codification was carried out, a paraphrase of the "Institutions" was published in Greek. Its author was Theophilus. It was written for those students who did not speak Latin.
Institutional system
To understand what Justinian's "Institutions" are, one should understand the principles of their construction. As mentioned above, they were borrowed from Guy. The system assumes the absence of a common part. Instead, a short introductory title is usually used, which stipulates the publication, operation and application of laws. In this regard, norms that are of a general nature are found in each book. In this system, the foundations of the Romanesque system of private civil law were laid.
According to its principles, for example, the Napoleonic Code of 1804 is built. It is divided into three parts, of which the first is dedicated to individuals, the second talks about types of property, and the third considers ways to acquire property. This is expressed by the formula: "persons - things - obligations." Subsequently, the institutional system, with some changes, was accepted in countries such as Spain, Belgium,Portugal.
This system is opposed to the pandect system and is somewhat inferior to it in terms of legal technique. The latter corresponds to the construction of Justinian's Digests, otherwise called Pandects. Translated from the Greek πανδέκτης means "comprehensive", "comprehensive". The pandect system involves the allocation of general and special parts of laws and codes into separate sections.
Structure and composition
As already mentioned, the "Institution" includes four books. They are divided into 98 titles. According to the content, they are divided into three parts:
- Personae (right of persons).
- Res (property law).
- Actiones (lawsuits).
The last title (book 4, 18) is devoted to public law issues, which speaks of the influence of the Institutions drawn up by Paul.
Summary of books
It looks like this:
- Book 1st. General theoretical legal provisions and information concerning the sources of Roman law. The right of individuals, highlighting the status of free citizens and slaves. Family law, containing such institutions as marriage and adoption, as well as the norms corresponding to them on guardianship and guardianship.
- Book 2. Real right, which includes: types of things, possession of them and other real rights. Gift and inheritance in accordance with the will.
- Book 3rd. Rules of inheritance under the law. Types of various obligations, such as rent, purchase and sale, and others. The procedure for concluding various agreements.
- Book 4th. Regulationnon-contractual obligations arising from torts and quasi-delicts. Institutes of procedural law, where we are talking about the types of claims, the procedure for initiating them, securing claims, liability for violation of procedural norms, the status of a judge in civil proceedings, and so on. The last title contains criminal law.
The prototype of leasing in the institutions of Justinian
In an attempt to analyze the origins of such a legal phenomenon as leasing, researchers come to the conclusion that its classic prototype should be sought in Roman law. It was it that laid the foundation for the development of European legal systems, giving the world the eternal truths of legal wisdom.
According to E. V. Kabatova, who is the author of in-depth studies on the problems of leasing relations, their sources could be the institutions of property and obligation law, reflected in Justinian's Institutions.
These institutions embody the idea that considers the possession of a thing without establishing ownership of it. First, we mean the usufruct, which is one of the varieties of personal easement. Secondly, we are talking about a contract for hiring things.
Law of Obligations
How is Justinian's "Institution" defined obligation? There they are considered as legal ties that bind a person to the need to perform something in accordance with the law of the state.
The reasons for the emergence of obligations in Justinian are divided into four sources. It's about:
- Contracts.
- Quasi-contracts.
- Delict.
- Quasi-torts.
The content of obligations was understood as the actions of debtors. The "Institutions" talked about:
- transfer things;
- paying money;
- provision of services;
- production work.
In other words, the formula applies here: dare, facere, praestare, which means "give, do, provide".
Commitments that enjoyed claim protection, as well as obligations in kind, were singled out. In the first case, in case of default, the creditor could enforce his rights. However, the second kind was not completely devoid of legal effect. What had already been paid under such an obligation could not be claimed as unpaid.
Further use
In the Middle Ages, Justinian's "Institutions" were the main source of information about Roman law. However, they also continued to have the force of law. A large number of their manuscripts have survived to this day. The most ancient of them belong to the 9th-10th centuries. In total there are over three hundred of them. The most important of them are Bamberg and Turin.
Until the Digests were rediscovered in the 11th century, the Institutions continued to be the main textbook by which Roman law was studied. They began to be subjected to glossing early. Many glosses remained in the Turin manuscript. Their compilation continued into the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 13th century, Accursius created the Ordinary Glossa, itcovered the entire Corpus iuris civilis, including the Institutions. Thus, the process of glossing this monument was completed.
"Institutions" translated into Russian, English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Romanian, French.
Meaning
Today, Justinian's "Institutions" is a monument of Roman law, which is one of the four parts of its codification (Corpus iuris civilis). Previously, they had a double meaning:
- Firstly, they were a textbook for law schools, officially approved. It was studied during the first semester of a five-year course.
- Secondly, along with the Code of Justinian and the Digests, they were also the current law.
The shortcomings of the book lie in the artificial combination of institutions related to both formulary and extraordinary processes. Among the advantages of the monument is the presence of legal definitions and clarifications of general concepts, as well as quoting various points of view of classical jurists.
All the norms included in Justinian's "Institutions" made significant changes to both classical and post-classical Roman law.
