The Institutes of Justinian originate from the sixth century AD, commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian as a comprehensive legal textbook for students. The work arises from a need to reform and simplify the immense, confusing volumes of older Roman jurisprudence into an accessible, authoritative foundation.
The author divides the entire science of Roman law into three core branches: the law of persons, the law of things, and the law of actions. The initial section examines legal subjects, distinguishing between free men and slaves, and detailing domestic structures such as paternal power, marriage, adoption, guardianships, and curatorships.
The second part explores property and the ways individuals acquire ownership over things. It classifies objects into those subject to private ownership and those common to all by natural law, while explaining specific acquisition modes like delivery, accession, usucapion, gifts, and the execution of wills.
The third division addresses the devolution of inheritances upon intestacy, statutory successions of agnates, and testamentary trusts. It outlines how estates pass to family members, blood relatives, or designated heirs, and establishes the statutory limits on legacies under the Lex Falcidia.
The final portion focuses on obligations arising from contracts, quasi-contracts, delicts, and quasi-delicts. It details real, verbal, literal, and consensual agreements, defining the legal bonds and remedies that hold civil society together.
The text concludes by cementing imperial authority over legal education, ensuring that future rulers and magistrates govern with both justice and arms.
