Zufälle, Fälle und Formeln

Zur Emergenz des synallagmatischen Vertrags

Abstract

The construction of the consensual contract in Roman law is certainly one of the most important achievements in the history of private law. But how and under which structural conditions did the consensual contract come into being? Its invention eliminated most of the characteristics of earlier forms of obligation, such as the ritualistic and formalistic elements. It thereby allowed totally new legal agreements and transactions. But at the same time the new type of consensual contract maintained one specific feature of private law: the formula or actio. With this observation, the present article discusses the possibilities and limitations of evolutionary processes in law.