Books (authored and edited) by Paul J. du Plessis
Oxford University Press , 2020
Review: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2021.01.04 (S. Giombini).
A new assessment of the importance of the lex Aquilia (wrongful damage to property) on Roman law ... more A new assessment of the importance of the lex Aquilia (wrongful damage to property) on Roman law in Britain. Few topics have had a more profound impact on the study of Roman law in Britain than the lex Aquilia, a Roman statute enacted c.287/286 BCE to reform the Roman law on wrongful damage to property. This volume investigates this peculiarly British fixation against the backdrop larger themes such as the development of delict/tort in Britain and the rise of comparative law.Taken collectively, the volume establishes whether it is possible to identify a 'British' method of researching and writing about Roman law.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrongful-Damage-Property-Roman-Law/dp/1474434460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522424920&sr=8-1&keywords=wrongful+damage
The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society surveys the landscape of contemporary research and c... more The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society surveys the landscape of contemporary research and charts principal directions of future inquiry. More than a history of doctrine or an account of jurisprudence, the Handbook brings to bear upon Roman legal study the full range of intellectual resources of contemporary legal history, from comparison to popular constitutionalism, from international private law to law and society, thereby setting itself apart from other volumes as a unique contribution to scholarship on its subject.
The Handbook brings the study of Roman law into closer alignment and dialogue with historical, sociological, and anthropological research into law in other periods. It will therefore be of value not only to ancient historians and legal historians already focused on the ancient world, but to historians of all periods interested in law and its complex and multifaceted relationship to society.
This volume brings together an international team of scholars to debate the issue of Cicero as ‘a... more This volume brings together an international team of scholars to debate the issue of Cicero as ‘an outsider’ and to investigate whether, in light of more recent research, this view of Cicero requires revision.
In his 1995 book The Spirit of Roman Law, Alan Watson included a chapter provocatively titled ‘Cicero the Outsider’. Watson’s argument, following the then dominant Romanist view, was that Cicero’s outlook was significantly different from that of the Roman jurists. While Watson’s cautious observation has merit in the context of his argument, its subtext is more problematic. It is the purpose of this volume to critique the pervasive view in Roman-law literature that minimises the significance of Cicero in the narratives of Roman law of the late Republic.
This reappraisal of the significance of Cicero reflects current thinking in Roman law and forms part of a larger and more complex debate concerning the nature of law and of the legal profession in the last century of the Roman Republic.
This volume, the successor to The Creation of the Ius Commune: From Casus to Regula, is a fundame... more This volume, the successor to The Creation of the Ius Commune: From Casus to Regula, is a fundamental reassessment of the nature and significance of Legal Humanism as an intellectual movement in the history of the civil law.
It specifically addresses, among other themes, the often-repeated claim in contemporary scholarship that the “irrelevant” philological analyses of the Humanists were somehow to blame for the demise of “practical” Roman law of the medieval period. This has important implications for the current debate on the state and future of Roman law.
The volume may be purchased through the website of Edinburgh University Press, through Amazon (UK) or Oxford University Press Global (North America).
Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law is the leading textbook in the field of Roman law, and has been... more Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law is the leading textbook in the field of Roman law, and has been written with undergraduate students firmly in mind. The book provides an accessible and highly engaging account of Roman private law and civil procedure, with coverage of all key topics, including the Roman legal system, and the law of persons, property, and obligations.
The author sets the law in its social and historical context, and demonstrates the impact of Roman law on our modern legal systems. For the fifth edition, Paul du Plessis has included references to a wide range of scholarly texts, to ground his judicious account of Roman law firmly in contemporary scholarship. He has also added examples from legal practice, as well as truncated timelines at the start of each chapter to illustrate how the law developed over time.
The book contains a wealth of learning features, including chapter summaries, diagrams and maps. A major feature of the book is the inclusion throughout of extracts in translation from the most important sources of Roman law: the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian. Annotated further reading sections at the end of each chapter act as a guide to further enquiry.
Online Resource Centre
The book is accompanied by an extensive Online Resource Centre, containing the following resources:
-Self-test multiple choice questions
-Interactive timeline
-Biographies of key figures
-Glossary of Latin terms
-Annotated web links
-Original Latin versions of the extracts from the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian
-Examples of textual analysis of Roman law texts
-Guide to the literature and sources of Roman law
Studying Roman Law is an introductory guide aimed at sixth-formers, students and those with a gen... more Studying Roman Law is an introductory guide aimed at sixth-formers, students and those with a general interest wishing to obtain a basic overview of Roman private law during the first three centuries of the Common Era. It is not meant to be a replacement for more comprehensive and technical manuals on Roman law, but should rather be seen as introductory reading. Written in non-specialist language, it contains a basic overview of the sources of Roman private law and a guide to their use together with a survey of the main areas of the law using primary sources in translation. It also explains the different contexts in which these rules arose and operated as well as the mechanisms by which they were enforced against the backdrop of one of the most sophisticated and influential legal systems of the ancient world.
This is an interdisciplinary, edited collection on social science methodologies for approaching R... more This is an interdisciplinary, edited collection on social science methodologies for approaching Roman legal sources. Roman law as a field of study is rapidly evolving to reflect new perspectives and approaches in research. Scholars who work on the subject are increasingly being asked to conduct research in an interdisciplinary manner whereby Roman law is not merely seen as a set of abstract concepts devoid of any background, but as a body of law which operated in a specific social, economic and cultural context. This context-based approach to the study of Roman law is an exciting new field which legal historians must address. Since the mid-1960s, a new academic movement has advocated a law and society approach to the study of Roman law instead of the prevailing dogmatic methodology employed in many Faculties of law. This book aims to further the current debate on the interface between legal history and ancient history. It brings together a distinguished group of scholars who will provide different perspectives on this debate. It addresses particular themes within this debate such as law and legal practice, law and gender as well as law and economics.
This book is an important contribution to the current lively debate about the relationship betwee... more This book is an important contribution to the current lively debate about the relationship between law and society in the Roman world. This debate, which was initiated by the work of John Crook in the 1960's, has had a profound impact upon the study of law and history and has created sharply divided opinions on the extent to which law may be said to be a product of the society that created it. This work is a modest attempt to provide a balanced assessment of the various points of view. The chapters within this book have been specifically arranged to represent the debate. It contains an introductory chapter by Alan Watson, whose views on the relationship between law and society have caused some controversy. In the remaining chapters a distinguished international group of scholars address this debate by focusing on studies of law and empire, codes and codification, death and economics, commerce and procedure. This book does not purport to provide a complete survey of Roman private law in light of Roman society. Its primary aim is to address specific areas of the law with a view to contributing to the larger debate.
This book discusses in detail how medieval scholars reacted to the casuistic discussions in the i... more This book discusses in detail how medieval scholars reacted to the casuistic discussions in the inherited Roman texts, particularly the Digest of Justinian. It shows how they developed medieval Roman law into a system of rules that formed a universal common law for Western Europe. Because there has been little research published in English beyond grand narratives on the history of law in Europe, this book fills an important gap in the literature. With a focus on how the medieval Roman lawyers systematised the Roman sources through detailed discussions of specific areas of law, it considers: *the sources of medieval law and how to access them *the development from cases to rules *medieval lawyers' strategies for citing each other and their significance *growth of a conceptual approach to the study of law. With contributions from leading international scholars in the field, this book therefore fills an important gap in the literature.
Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law has been written with undergraduate students firmly in mind. Th... more Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law has been written with undergraduate students firmly in mind. The book provides a clear and highly readable account of Roman private law and civil procedure, with coverage of all key topics, including the Roman legal system, and the law of persons, property, and obligations. Aiming to provide a rounded picture of the subject, the author sets the law in its social and historical context, and demonstrates the impact of Roman law on our modern legal systems. A major feature of the book is the inclusion throughout of extracts in translation from the most important sources of Roman law: the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian. Annotated further reading sections at the end of each chapter act as a guide to further enquiry. Online Resource Centre The book is accompanied by an extensive Online Resource Centre, containing the following resources: -Self-test multiple choice questions -Interactive timeline -Biographies of key figures -Glossary of Latin terms -Annotated web links -Original Latin versions of the extracts from the Digest and the Institutes -Examples of textual analysis of Roman law texts -Guide to the literature and sources of Roman law
Edited volumes (participated in) by Paul J. du Plessis
Olivier Descamps and Rafael Domingo (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2019
This book aims to illustrate the fertile interactions and lasting synergies between Christianity ... more This book aims to illustrate the fertile interactions and lasting synergies between Christianity and law in French history by exploring the contributions that brilliant legal figures have made over the centuries to juridical ideas and institutions. The volume is part of a larger project on Christian jurists in world history led by John Witte, Jr., director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. The first two volumes, on English and Spanish Christian jurists, have already been published. This volume on French Christian jurists is thus the third in a series projected to include at least seven more.
Like the other volumes in the collection, this one is biographical, juridical, ecumenical, and global in character. The biographical dimension emphasizes not only the great legal contributions of each jurist but also his or her links to Christianity. The juridical dimension highlights the impact of each jurist on public and private law and justice, whether from inside the legal profession or from a broader philosophical, theological, or intellectual tradition. The ecumenical dimension shows Christianity as a unity, taking into consideration the way different churches and denominations are part of a whole. Finally, the global dimension emphasizes that each volume in this series on great Christian jurists illustrates the distinctive contributions of different nations to the global conversation about law and Christianity.
This volume on French Christian jurists examines the lives of twenty-seven key legal thinkers in French history, particularly the ways their Christian faith and ideals were a factor in framing the evolution of law and justice. All chapters have been written by distinguished legal scholars and historians, mainly from France but also from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The collaboration among French and non-French scholars, and the diversity of international and methodological perspectives, gives the volume its unique character and value.
Napoli, 2011
INDICE SOMMARIO MARIA FLORIANA CURSI L'eredità del modello romano della responsabilità per colpa ... more INDICE SOMMARIO MARIA FLORIANA CURSI L'eredità del modello romano della responsabilità per colpa nella configurazione della responsabilità civile dei genitori p. 1 I. I PROBLEMI DEL DIRITTO POSITIVO. -1. La responsabilità per fatto altrui tra modello soggettivo e modello oggettivo: l'esempio della responsabilità dei genitori, 1. -2. Le oscillazioni della giurisprudenza italiana e di quella europea: quale certezza per il danneggiato?, 8. -3. Analoghe difficoltà interpretative nell'esperienza latino-americana, 14. -II. LA TRADI-ZIONE ROMANISTICA. -4. Alle radici del modello della responsabilità per fatto altrui: il confronto tra patria potestas e culpa in eligendo e in vigilando, 20. -5. Il modello della culpa in eligendo e in vigilando e l'inscindibilità del binomio iniuria/culpa dai giuristi romani agli umanisti, 27. -6. L'elaborazione della clausola generale di responsabilità fondata sulla culpa nella sintesi dogmatica di Grozio, 32. -7. L'emergere del modello parallelo della responsabilità oggettiva dalla scissione dell'iniuria dalla culpa nella riflessione dei giusnaturalisti, 37. -8. La conservazione del rapporto tra antigiuridicità e colpevolezza nella clausola generale di responsabilità per colpa nel Code Napoléon, 41. -9. Il riconoscimento di uno spazio alla responsabilità oggettiva nel tradizionale impianto codicistico di responsabilità soggettiva: le codificazioni giusnaturaliste di area germanica, 47. -10. Il sistema del doppio binario: l'adattamento dell'impianto francese al modello tedesco nella scelta del legislatore italiano del 1942, 51. -III. L'ESPERIENZA ANTICA E QUELLA MODERNA A CON-FRONTO. -11. La logica risarcitoria e la funzione garantista della responsabilità per fatto altrui nel superamento del modello tradizionale della culpa in eligendo, in vigilando, in educando, 58.
Radio by Paul J. du Plessis
The Impact of Roman law on Modern law
This is a link to the Spotify podcast I recently did for the "ius commune podcast" series. The li... more This is a link to the Spotify podcast I recently did for the "ius commune podcast" series. The link is included here. The topic of the podcast was the Roman legal procedure.
Melvyn Bragg chairs a discussion on Justinian's codification and its legacy with Caroline Humfres... more Melvyn Bragg chairs a discussion on Justinian's codification and its legacy with Caroline Humfress, Paul du Plessis and Simon Corcoran. You can listen to the broadcast, or download the slightly longer podcast, that includes some additional discussion recorded immediately after the programme.
Published Papers by Paul J. du Plessis
"Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Iuridica", 2022
The aim of this piece is to present an overview of certain recent trends which have emerged in th... more The aim of this piece is to present an overview of certain recent trends which have emerged in the study and teaching of Roman law. These trends are identified and placed within the larger context of the role and function of the teaching of Roman law in Law Schools during the twentieth century. In addition, it is argued in this piece that trends regarding the study of Roman legal sources which have emerged in the context of U.S. Law Schools have the potential to enrich the discipline and to permit new questions to be asked about Roman law.
Uploads
Books (authored and edited) by Paul J. du Plessis
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrongful-Damage-Property-Roman-Law/dp/1474434460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522424920&sr=8-1&keywords=wrongful+damage
The Handbook brings the study of Roman law into closer alignment and dialogue with historical, sociological, and anthropological research into law in other periods. It will therefore be of value not only to ancient historians and legal historians already focused on the ancient world, but to historians of all periods interested in law and its complex and multifaceted relationship to society.
In his 1995 book The Spirit of Roman Law, Alan Watson included a chapter provocatively titled ‘Cicero the Outsider’. Watson’s argument, following the then dominant Romanist view, was that Cicero’s outlook was significantly different from that of the Roman jurists. While Watson’s cautious observation has merit in the context of his argument, its subtext is more problematic. It is the purpose of this volume to critique the pervasive view in Roman-law literature that minimises the significance of Cicero in the narratives of Roman law of the late Republic.
This reappraisal of the significance of Cicero reflects current thinking in Roman law and forms part of a larger and more complex debate concerning the nature of law and of the legal profession in the last century of the Roman Republic.
It specifically addresses, among other themes, the often-repeated claim in contemporary scholarship that the “irrelevant” philological analyses of the Humanists were somehow to blame for the demise of “practical” Roman law of the medieval period. This has important implications for the current debate on the state and future of Roman law.
The volume may be purchased through the website of Edinburgh University Press, through Amazon (UK) or Oxford University Press Global (North America).
The author sets the law in its social and historical context, and demonstrates the impact of Roman law on our modern legal systems. For the fifth edition, Paul du Plessis has included references to a wide range of scholarly texts, to ground his judicious account of Roman law firmly in contemporary scholarship. He has also added examples from legal practice, as well as truncated timelines at the start of each chapter to illustrate how the law developed over time.
The book contains a wealth of learning features, including chapter summaries, diagrams and maps. A major feature of the book is the inclusion throughout of extracts in translation from the most important sources of Roman law: the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian. Annotated further reading sections at the end of each chapter act as a guide to further enquiry.
Online Resource Centre
The book is accompanied by an extensive Online Resource Centre, containing the following resources:
-Self-test multiple choice questions
-Interactive timeline
-Biographies of key figures
-Glossary of Latin terms
-Annotated web links
-Original Latin versions of the extracts from the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian
-Examples of textual analysis of Roman law texts
-Guide to the literature and sources of Roman law
Edited volumes (participated in) by Paul J. du Plessis
Like the other volumes in the collection, this one is biographical, juridical, ecumenical, and global in character. The biographical dimension emphasizes not only the great legal contributions of each jurist but also his or her links to Christianity. The juridical dimension highlights the impact of each jurist on public and private law and justice, whether from inside the legal profession or from a broader philosophical, theological, or intellectual tradition. The ecumenical dimension shows Christianity as a unity, taking into consideration the way different churches and denominations are part of a whole. Finally, the global dimension emphasizes that each volume in this series on great Christian jurists illustrates the distinctive contributions of different nations to the global conversation about law and Christianity.
This volume on French Christian jurists examines the lives of twenty-seven key legal thinkers in French history, particularly the ways their Christian faith and ideals were a factor in framing the evolution of law and justice. All chapters have been written by distinguished legal scholars and historians, mainly from France but also from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The collaboration among French and non-French scholars, and the diversity of international and methodological perspectives, gives the volume its unique character and value.
Radio by Paul J. du Plessis
Published Papers by Paul J. du Plessis
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrongful-Damage-Property-Roman-Law/dp/1474434460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522424920&sr=8-1&keywords=wrongful+damage
The Handbook brings the study of Roman law into closer alignment and dialogue with historical, sociological, and anthropological research into law in other periods. It will therefore be of value not only to ancient historians and legal historians already focused on the ancient world, but to historians of all periods interested in law and its complex and multifaceted relationship to society.
In his 1995 book The Spirit of Roman Law, Alan Watson included a chapter provocatively titled ‘Cicero the Outsider’. Watson’s argument, following the then dominant Romanist view, was that Cicero’s outlook was significantly different from that of the Roman jurists. While Watson’s cautious observation has merit in the context of his argument, its subtext is more problematic. It is the purpose of this volume to critique the pervasive view in Roman-law literature that minimises the significance of Cicero in the narratives of Roman law of the late Republic.
This reappraisal of the significance of Cicero reflects current thinking in Roman law and forms part of a larger and more complex debate concerning the nature of law and of the legal profession in the last century of the Roman Republic.
It specifically addresses, among other themes, the often-repeated claim in contemporary scholarship that the “irrelevant” philological analyses of the Humanists were somehow to blame for the demise of “practical” Roman law of the medieval period. This has important implications for the current debate on the state and future of Roman law.
The volume may be purchased through the website of Edinburgh University Press, through Amazon (UK) or Oxford University Press Global (North America).
The author sets the law in its social and historical context, and demonstrates the impact of Roman law on our modern legal systems. For the fifth edition, Paul du Plessis has included references to a wide range of scholarly texts, to ground his judicious account of Roman law firmly in contemporary scholarship. He has also added examples from legal practice, as well as truncated timelines at the start of each chapter to illustrate how the law developed over time.
The book contains a wealth of learning features, including chapter summaries, diagrams and maps. A major feature of the book is the inclusion throughout of extracts in translation from the most important sources of Roman law: the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian. Annotated further reading sections at the end of each chapter act as a guide to further enquiry.
Online Resource Centre
The book is accompanied by an extensive Online Resource Centre, containing the following resources:
-Self-test multiple choice questions
-Interactive timeline
-Biographies of key figures
-Glossary of Latin terms
-Annotated web links
-Original Latin versions of the extracts from the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian
-Examples of textual analysis of Roman law texts
-Guide to the literature and sources of Roman law
Like the other volumes in the collection, this one is biographical, juridical, ecumenical, and global in character. The biographical dimension emphasizes not only the great legal contributions of each jurist but also his or her links to Christianity. The juridical dimension highlights the impact of each jurist on public and private law and justice, whether from inside the legal profession or from a broader philosophical, theological, or intellectual tradition. The ecumenical dimension shows Christianity as a unity, taking into consideration the way different churches and denominations are part of a whole. Finally, the global dimension emphasizes that each volume in this series on great Christian jurists illustrates the distinctive contributions of different nations to the global conversation about law and Christianity.
This volume on French Christian jurists examines the lives of twenty-seven key legal thinkers in French history, particularly the ways their Christian faith and ideals were a factor in framing the evolution of law and justice. All chapters have been written by distinguished legal scholars and historians, mainly from France but also from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The collaboration among French and non-French scholars, and the diversity of international and methodological perspectives, gives the volume its unique character and value.
Original English paper here:
https://www.academia.edu/21680323/The_Ten_Principles_of_Peer_Review
The University of Edinburgh, in conjunction with Tel Aviv University, will be hosting a closed international workshop of the leading scholars working on legal history of the Roman Empire. The workshop will focus on marriage and family law in the main legal traditions of the time, namely, Roman law, Greek legal traditions, Christian legal traditions, Halakha, and/or the intersection between them.
We are inviting five advanced PhD students to participate in the workshop. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge scholarship, respond to pre-circulated papers and take part in the discussions. The applicants will be required to present their own research.
J’ai le grand plaisir de vous annoncer que la 73ème conférence de la Sociéte Internationale Fernand de Visscher pour l’Histoire des Droits de l’Antiquité se tiendra/aura lieu à l’Université d’Edimbourg du 2 au 7 Septembre 2019.
Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter notre site internet à l’adresse
https://www.sihda2019.law.ed.ac.uk ou suivre notre actualité Twitter: @sihda2019.
Bien à vous,
Pr Paul J. du Plessis
Roman legal science: the bridgeable gulf between Europe and South-America
Padova, 5-9 marzo 2018
Palazzo del Bo - Biblioteca di diritto italiano
"The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society surveys the landscape of contemporary research and charts principal directions of future inquiry. More than a history of doctrine or an account of jurisprudence, the Handbook brings to bear upon Roman legal study the full range of intellectual resources of contemporary legal history, from comparison to popular constitutionalism, from international private law to law and society, thereby setting itself apart from other volumes as a unique contribution to scholarship on its subject.
The Handbook brings the study of Roman law into closer alignment and dialogue with historical, sociological, and anthropological research into law in other periods. It will therefore be of value not only to ancient historians and legal historians already focused on the ancient world, but to historians of all periods interested in law and its complex and multifaceted relationship to society."
OUP
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-roman-law-and-society-9780198728689?cc=fi&lang=en&
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Handbook-Roman-Society-Handbooks/dp/0198728689/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Q4GKC69Q88YW0M9QJKR0