RSK 5

the principiumas law, but § separates natural law from law, which is either civil law or ius gentium. Next ius gentiumis described (or defined) as law established among all men through natural reason. But then we have a continuation of ius gentiumin §. So nowius gentiumhas come in § to mean first International Law in the modern sense, secondly that part of Roman private law introduced for foreigners as well as for citizens. Hence, paene, “almost” all of the contracts were introduced by the ius gentium: the contract of stipulatio, originally available only to Romans, is significantly omitted from the list. The meaning given toius gentiumin § does not reappear. The confusion in the texts comes largely from the authority of Roman classical law, partly from pressure of time. The classical Roman jurists stopped writing books around , and they were all pagans. Hence, no Christianity in the law in the Institutes. They were positivists, hence no philosophical notion of natural law. Accordingly, the Roman jurists’ treatment of natural law was already remote from that of other educated Romans. They were also not much interested in international law but other Roman writers such as Cicero and Livy usedius gentiumin that sense, hence its appearance in §. Again the distinction between private law available only to citizens and such law available also to foreigners had long disappeared before Justinian, but it is here retained. The compilers of the Institutes were in a rush. Instructions for the preparation of the elementary textbook were given only when theDigest was completed, but both works were to come into force on the same day, and Justinian would not want the Digest delayed.  ...From the demands of events and human necessities, human societies established certain laws for themselves: for wars broke out, and captivities followed, and slavery which is contrary to natural law. For by natural law, from the beginning all men were free. From this ius gentium(law of nations) also almost all of the contracts were introduced, as sale, hire, partnership, deposit, loan for consumption and innumerable others.

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