As to rights in things, jura in res, the Romans divided things according to their origin into corporeal thins, rea corporates; and incorporeal things, res lacer porales, such as a right of use, of inheritance, etc. Again, Niith regard to their sacred or secular use, things were divided into things of pious use, res dirini juris, and things of human use, res humani furls. Things for pious use include res sacra; things dedicated to the gods, as a temple, res religiose; things appropriated to the lower gods, as a tomb. Things of human use include private things, res pirates, and public things, res publica. In regard to their nature things are divided into movable and immovable, res mobiles and res immobiles. Ownership of things, domi nion, may be created by occupation, or taking possession of what has not or never had an owner, as treasure-trove; by specification, specificatio, where a new article is made from an old; by mixture of one article with another in such a way that they cannot be restored to their former condition, etc. Ownership may also he secured by undisputed adverse use of property in good faith. Under Justinian, such use had to continue for 3 years in the case of movables, and 10 years in the case of immovables, to be a her to the claim of the original owner. Connected with the ownership of property are some times certain rights, Jura in re, or easements, which give one of two contiguous estates certain privileges in regard to the other, as a right of way, a right of drawing water, etc. But such rights run with the estate, and can impose upon the owner of the ser vient estate no liability to do any act. There may be also a personal servitude by which one person has the beneficial use of certain property for a term of years or for life.
In the law of obligations, all obligations are said to arise from contract, ex eontractu, or from wrong, ex delleto. Of obligations from contract are verbal contracts or stipula tions, written contracts; mutuum, a loan to be returned with interest ; commodatum, a loan for use; depositum, where the article is not to be used by the bailee. Grouped together as contracts by agreement are the following: (1) Buying and selling, etnptio, reuditio, where the seller agrees to put the buyer in possession of certain property, and the buyer agrees to pay a certain sum therefor; (2) hiring and letting, loeatio, conductio, where the letter agrees to give the hirer the use of certain property and the hirer agrees to pay a certain sum therefor; (3) agreement to hold property, in common for certain purposes, societas; this may be an unlimited partnership, societas totorum.bonorum; or limited to a single business, societas alievjus vegohationis; (4) mandatum, an agreement by one party to execute a commission for another party without consideration; a con sideration may be given in some other way, but does not appear front the form of con tract. This contract was frequently used by parties unable or unwilling to prosecute a suit at law, who would give a mandate to some other person to act as procurator and the suit for them. Obligations ex delieto arise where persons guilty of crime are also civilly liable for damages. Thus a person guilty of larceny, furturn, must
restore the stolen property or its value and pay a penalty of twice its value, or of four times its value if he were caught in the act. Robbery with violence, rapina, was civilly punished with a fine of four times the property, but this included the value of the prop erty taken. Injury to property, damnum injurici datum, entitled its owner to receive from the wrong-doer the highest price the property would have brought 30 days before the injury, or 12 months before in the case of a slave. Inheritance was based by Jus tinian on cognation, and the heirs took in the following order: (1) Lineal descendants, sons and dmighters equally and the children of deceased children by representation; (2) lineal ascendants, with representation of children of deceased brother or sister; (3) children of the half blood with representation; (4) blood relations, nearer preferred to more remote, but those of same degree sharing equally. An heir by the will was bound to pay debts and legacies, but the legacies fell if the heir refused to accept the inherit ance. Finally, after various restrictions on the amount of legacies. the heir was allowed by law one-fourth of the net value of the estate of the decedent. so that the legatees could receive but three-fourths, and in case of a falling off, their shares were propor tionately reduced. Wills required 5 to 7 witnesses, though they could be made verbally according to certain ceremonies. To make provision for persons incapable of taking a legacy at law, reliance was placed upon the good faith of the heir, and later a special mrcristrate was appointed to take cognizance of trusts of this description. A slave could not take save by consent of his Master; but a slave made heir by his master was adjud7ed free, though the will contained no directions for his manumission. A testator could not disinherit a child without making distinct reference to him in the will. and a disinherited child who could show that he had committed no offense against his father could come in for one-fourth of what his inheritance would be if his father had died intestate.
In regard to jurisdiction and procedure little can here be said. In the time of the Christian emperors the municipal and local magistrates had jurisdiction in small mat ters up to a certain amount; and there was a class of petty magistrates appointed by the emperor, and called lattices pedanei, whose functions are not clear. There was it special system of courts at Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria. Appeal iv to the presi• dent of the province, to the delegates or vicar of the prefect, to the prefect, and in the last resort to the emperor himself. The army and the clergy were subject to the mili tary and ecclesiastical courts. The plaintiff lodged a complaint against the defendant with the clerk of the proper magistrate, who informed the defendant. The term civil law is sometimes used as the opposite of criminal law. See CGDIL, JUSTINIANUS, PA,NDECTS, ante.