The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law

Description

This book reflects the wide range of current scholarship on Roman law. The essays, newly commissioned for this volume, cover the sources of evidence for classical Roman law, the elements of private law, as well as criminal and public law, and the second life of Roman law in Byzantium, in civil and canon law, and in political discourse from AD 1100 to the present. Roman law nowadays is studied in many different ways, which is reflected in the diversity of approaches in the essays. Some focus on how the law evolved in ancient Rome, others on its place in the daily life of the Roman citizen, still others on how Roman legal concepts and doctrines have been deployed through the ages. All of them are responses to one and the same thing: the sheer intellectual vitality of Roman law, which has secured its place as a central element in the intellectual tradition and history of the West.

David Johnston is a Queen's Counsel who practises at the Bar in Scotland, mainly in the fields of public and commercial law. He holds MA, PhD and LD degrees from the University of Cambridge. From 1993 to 1999 he was Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Christ's College. He is currently an honorary professor at Edinburgh Law School. David Johnston is the author of many publications, including The Roman Law of Trusts (1988), Roman Law in Context (1999) and Prescription and Limitation, 2nd edition (2012).

'A sophisticated and informative journey through a fascinating intellectual landscape: Roman law, private and public, in its ancient context and beyond, beautifully explained to lawyers and historians.' Dario Mantovani, Universita degli Studi di Pavia, Italy 'The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law is an indispensable survey of the enormous field of Roman law, focusing not just on the substance of the law, but also on the process of its creation, its enforcement in the Roman world, and its subsequent influence on later legal systems.' Dennis Kehoe, Tulane University, Louisiana 'This book is a good companion for a long journey, from the formation of Roman law through its reconstruction in the Middle Ages to its continuing influence in the modern world. The authors present Roman law authoritatively and from a range of perspectives, examining its doctrines, its development, and its intellectual and economic roots.' James Gordley, Tulane University, Louisiana 'It is rare to read a book on Roman law which is difficult to put down, but this is such a book ... [It] has much to offer both the general reader and the professional lawyer or classicist.' Classics for All Reviews (classicsforallreviews.wordpress.com)