Foreseeability and Limitation of contractual damages in Roman law
Keywords:
Foreseeability, Limitation of liability, Contractual damages, Roman law
Abstract
This Article studies the limitation of liability for contractual damages in Roman law to examine whether foreseeability in contractual damages was formed in Roman law and its influence on the development of limitation of liability for contractual damages in modern law. It concludes that the limitation of contractual damages, without general rule, was discussed by some Roman jurists in given contexts and there was a vague implication of foreseeable damages to limit the compensation of damages. The Roman law laid the foundation for the fair limitation of contractual damages which became the inspiration to develop foreseeability and limitation of liability in the law of contract in modern times.
References
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2. Edijs Brants, “Role of Foreseeability in Imposition of Civil Liability”, Rīga Stradiņš University, 2(20), 2021, 268–286.
3. Cornelis Jan de Bruijn, “Latent defect or excessive price? Exploring early modern legal approach to remedying defects in goods exchanged for money”, [PhD-Thesis - Research and graduation internal, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam], 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2024, from https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/69434145/complete+dissertation.pdf.
4. Alma Diamond, “Remoteness and the limitation of contractual damages”, [LLM-thesis-Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University], 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/188224834.pdf.
5. Paul du Plessis, Borkowski’s Textbook On Roman Law, Oxford 2020.
6. Franco Ferrari, “Comparative Ruminations on the Foreseeability of Damages in Contract Law”, Louisiana Law Review, 53, 1993, 1257-1269.
7. Bruce Woodward Frier, (2021). A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts, Chapter IV: Sale: A Contract Created Through Informal Agreement, Oxford 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2024, from http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/cdonahue/courses/rlaw/mats/Frier_007%20Chapter%204%20Casebook%20on%20the%20Roman%20Law%20of%20Contracts.pdf.
8. Jan Hallebeek, “The ignorant seller´s liability for latent defects: One regula or various sets of rules?” In J. W. Cairns, & P. J. du Plessis (Eds.), The creation of the ius commune. From Casus to regula, 2010, 175-217.
9. David Ibbetson, “How the Romans Did for Us: Ancient Roots of the Tort of Negligence”, University of New South Wales Law Journal, 26(2), 2003, 475.
10. Helen Scott, “The history of foreseeability”. Current Legal Problems, 72(1), 2019, 287–314.
11. Samuel Parsons Scott, The Civil Law - Translated from the Original Latin 5-6. Clark, 2001.
12. Alan Watson, The Digest of Justinian 2, Philadelphia, 2001.
13. Johannes Wilhelmus Wessels, The Law of Contract in South Africa II, Johannesburg 1937.
14. Reinhard Zimmerman, The law of obligations : Roman foundations of the civilian tradition, Cape Town 1990.
Published
2025/11/26
Section
Original Scientific Paper