Classification Of Invalidity In Roman Law
Reasons:
The reasons for the classification of invalidity cases can be categorised under three main headings: initial impossibility, illegality and immorality.
A- Initial Impossibility:
It is the impossibility of the subject matter of the legal transaction during the establishment of the legal transaction. In this case, the legal transaction is invalid. For example, the fact that a completely burnt house is the subject of a purchase and sale contract makes this legal transaction invalid. In other words, a good that does not exist cannot be sold. In order for the initial impossibility to be asserted and to be valid, the situation must be objective. Or, in Rome, items used for religious purposes were not subject to purchase and sale. Therefore, the purchase and sale agreement that religious paraphernalia were the subject of was invalid.
B- Unlawfulness:
Legal transactions are invalid if they are against the law. Although the sources of law varied according to the political periods of Rome, especially the 12 plate law, the decisions of the people’s assembly, the decisions of the praetor, the emperor’s decrees, the Corpus Iurus Civilis during the reign of Iustinianus constituted the sources of law according to the periods. Therefore, when a legal transaction was made in violation of these sources of law, the legal transaction was invalid. In Roman property law, transactions were made according to the distinction between “res mancipi” and “res nec mancipi” goods.
For these, “mancipatio” and “in iure cessio” transactions were subject to legal ceremonial form. These procedures were prescribed by law. Therefore, the transfer of ownership of goods must be made according to these procedures. If the transfer of ownership of goods was not made according to these procedures, legal transactions would be invalid. Again in Rome, there is a verbal legal transaction called “stipulatio”, which is frequently seen in the law of obligations. This transaction is a legal transaction established by mutual utterance of certain words. Here, the words that the parties must say to each other are the form of the stipulation. Therefore, legal transactions that did not comply with the form requirement of stipulatio were considered invalid.
C- Moral Incompatibility:
In Rome, the subject and purpose of legal transactions should not be immoral. Therefore, legal transactions made in violation of the general rules of morality are invalid. For example, if a company was established for the purpose of doing illegitimate business, the contract of this company was considered invalid.
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