Roman law classified obligations into four main categories: 1) Obligations from contract - These included real contracts (formed by transfer of an object), verbal contracts (formed through spoken agreement), literal contracts (formed through a written document), and consensual contracts (formed through mutual consent). 2) Obligations from delict - These arose from wrongful acts like theft or damage to property. 3) Obligations from quasi-contract - These were obligations imposed by law without agreement, such as those arising from unjust enrichment. 4) Obligations from quasi-delict - These were similar to delicts but involved negligence rather than intentional misconduct. For a contract to be valid under Roman law,

1. Principles of Roman
Law Relating to
Obligations
Preeti Kana Sikder
Lecturer
Department of Law & Justice
Jahangirnagar University

2. “A legal bond whereby we are
constrained by a necessity of
performing something according to
the laws of our country”
Definition of Obligation in the ‘Institutes’

3. • Obligation is a res incorporalis.
• It creates a jus in personam; right available against a
specific person.
• By Roman usage, it only included rights in personam
capable of estimation in money or pertaining to the sphere of
proprietary rights.
Nature of Obligation

4. Civil and
Praetorian
Civil and
Natural
Arising from
Contract, quasi
contract, delict and
quasi delict
Classification of Obligations

5. Who is a Praetor?

6. • Civil obligations are created by statutes or, at least
approved by civil law
• Praetorian obligations created by praetors in exercise of
his jurisdiction. They are also called honorary.
First Category of Classification:
Civil and Praetorian/Honorary

7. • A civil obligation is one which is fully protected by law
and enforceable by action.
• A natural obligation is one which is only imperfectly
protected by law, therefore not enforceable by action but
has legal consequences, which vary with the
circumstances. (Contracts of slaves, Contracts between
persons subject to the same potestas)
Second Category of Classification:
Civil and Natural

8. Third Category of Classification:
Obligations Arising from Contract
Obligations from Delict
Obligations arising from Quasi-contract
Obligations from Quasi-Delict

9. Basic Ideas Relating to
Contract
These ideas are necessary to understand the types of contracts
formulated under Roman Law

10. Basic Ideas Relating to Contract
• Duty of performance is all on one side
• Duty may exist on both sides; equally,
immediate or contingent
Unilateral
v
Bilateral
• Binding the promisor to the very thing he
has promised (Unilateral)
• The judges were allowed a greater
latitude of interpretation and of decision
so as to do substantial justice between
parties (Bilateral)
Stricti Juris
V
Bonae Fidei

11. Basic Ideas Relating to Contract
• The form makes the contract
• Depends on the intention of the
parties
Formal
v
Informal
• Self-contained contracts where
inquiry is irrelevant (Formal)
• The reason behind promise
becomes relevant (Informal)
Abstract
V
Causal

12. General Principles of
Contract under Roman
Law
Formation of Contract v Operation of
Contract

13. Formation of Contract

14. What is necessary for initial validity?
• An agreement: there must be consensus ad idem
(Mutual Agreement)
• Intended to create: if the parties do not intend to be
bound, the law will not bind them
• Apt to create a legal obligation between the parties
• Relating to an object which is possible and lawful

15. What is necessary for initial validity?
• Made between competent persons:
 list of incompetent persons –
Persons of unsound mind, except during lucid intervals,
Infantes: Children under 7 years of age
Pupilli: Children under 14 (males) or 12 (females) who are not in
the power of an ascendant
Slaves
Sons and other male descendants in power could not contract by
civil law with their paterfamilias
Women

16. What is necessary for initial validity?
Mustnotbevoidableby
Dolus
Metus
Vis

17. Operation of Contract
A contract affects the parties to it and no one else

18. How are persons affected by it?
• One can not enforce a contract
in the performance of which he
is not personally interested.
• If A says to B, “Do you promise
to give ten aurei to C?” and B
answers, “I promise”, the
stipulation is valid.
• A acquires no right, because
he has no interest. C acquires
no right, because he is not a
party.
• No one can promise for
another.
• If A says to B, “Do you
promise that C will pay ten
aurei?” and B answers, “I
promise”, the stipulation is
invalid.
• B incurs no liability, because
he undertakes nothing on his
own account, nor does C,
because he is not a party to
the contract.

19. Most of these general principles
are to be found in Institutes, which
were applicable to contracts in
general. However, the theory of
contract in general were not
prominent.
It was specified classes of special contracts which were
taken mostly into account by Roman Law. Therefore,
Roman law is said to have a ‘law of contracts’, and not a
‘law of contract’.

20. • When the Romans speak of obligations arising from
contract, they mean obligations arising from
agreement.
• In Roman law, agreements were not actionable
unless they could be referred to one of the four
categories, and it was only then that they were said
to give rise to obligations from contract.
Obligations arising from Contract

21. By handing over
of a thing (res)
By a special kind
of writing (litteris)
By agreement
without anything
further (consensu)
By a form of
words (verbis)
Four classes distinguished as obligations

22. Contracts known to Roman Law
Real Verbal
Litteral Consensual

23. Types of Real Contract
Mutuum
Commodatum
Depositum
Pignus

24. Types of Verbal Contract
Dotis Dictio
Jusjurandaum
Liberti
StipulatioPignus

25. Types of Consensual Contract
Emptio
Venditio
Locatio
Conductio
Societas
Mandatum

26. Principles of Roman
Law Relating to
Succession
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