The concept of property in Roman civil law and its evolution

Abstract

The article examines property rights as a central institution of any legal system, with a particular focus on their formation and development in Roman law. It is emphasized that it was in Rome that property rights took on their classical form, which laid the foundations for the further development of private law relations in Europe and remained relevant for modern legal systems. The author considers the key theoretical and practical aspects of property rights: their economic and social nature, the powers of the owner, the distinction between ownership (dominium) and possession (possessio), as well as the system of protection. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of Roman legal constructs that made it possible to distinguish full ownership from its limited forms, in particular through the institution of usufruct and the category of nuda proprietas. The evolution of property rights from archaic forms of collective land ownership to complex constructions of the classical period is traced. Quirite property as a full right of Roman citizens is considered separately, as well as the praetorian and peregrine forms that arose in response to social and economic needs. It is shown that Roman law was distinguished by its pragmatism: it not only established legal doctrines, but also created mechanisms for regulating actual relations, ensuring the stability of property circulation. An important contribution was the development of a system of primary and derivative methods of acquiring property, including the unique institution of acquisitive prescription (usucapio), which combined legal logic with economic expediency. The article also highlights the post-classical unification of property rights carried out by Justinian, which eliminated the division between quiritary and praetorian property and brought Roman law closer to the modern understanding of proprietas. It is emphasized that even in its classical form, dominium was not absolute: in practice, it was limited by easements, state intervention, or family institutions such as peculium. In the 19th century, Roman law underwent a kind of “reinvention”: lawyers adapted ancient concepts to the needs of bourgeois society, forming the image of absolute property rights enshrined in the leading European codifications – the French Civil Code and the German Civil Code. The influence of this tradition can also be traced in modern Ukrainian legislation, where the institutions of ownership, use, disposal, acquisitive prescription, and property claims have retained a direct connection with Roman sources.