The culture of Ancient Rome reached such a high standard of development, that it has determinated the improvement of modern law until today. The modern European culture is built upon three fudamental pillars: Greek philosophy, Roman law and Christianity. For law students and the society of lawyers primarily Roman law is the relevant factual knowledge from these three. Most of the legal principles (such as nemo plus juris, exceptio rei iudicatae), the exact elaboration of certain legal institutions (for instance traditional acquisition of ownership or the Justinian forms of will), the creation of the system of sanctions (rules of liability, delay of the debtor, warranty) are the fundamental organizing principles of our current European law as well. That is why it is necessary to get acquainted with these rules.

Roman law has a foundational significance for the study of modern law. Modern laws (expecially civil law) are based upon Roman law in their system, institutional structure, so the knowledge of Roman law means the knowledge of law in general. It directs us in the review of modern legal order and it provides a steady theoretical base for the understanding and attainment of our effective law.

Its rules are clear, unambiguous, and give help in understanding and studying the more complicated regulation of modern world. Roman law is the ’mother law’ (Mutterrecht) of European legal systems, that is why it is highly instrumental in reading upon the domestic laws of other countries well and easily. It can be the key for constituting the unified legal system of the European Union, the creation of the modern ius commune. Roman law as a mass of law cases promotes the development of legal way of thinking by observation and resolutions of the cases, and also by becoming acquinted with the advanced legal technics of jurists. The attainment of the legal terminology created by the Romans is also significant, because in the languages of European nations the Roman terms appear as loan translations known by all lawyers.

The Department of Roman Law endavours to provide all help in the succesful attainment of this wonderful discipline.

Prof. Dr. Éva Jakab