Commentaries on Universal Public Law

EXPLANATION

OF

REFERENCES TO THE CORPUS JURIS CIVILIS.

The Pandects are indicated by the letters ff.

The letter L. means Law, and the mark § means Section of the Law. The words after the letters ff. give the rubric or heading of the title or chapter. Thus for instance, L. 49, § 1, ff. De Act. Empt. signifies Law 49, parag. 1, in the Pandects: title, De Actione Empti.

To find the passage referred to, look in the table of contents or headings, which is in every edition of the Pandects, alphabetically arranged. You will there find the page where the particular title is. Then the number of the law will show you the particular law that you seek. The references to the headings are usually abbreviated-thus: De hered. instit. for De heredibus instituendis. But any one can readily find what title the abbreviations indica, by running his eye down the index or table of headings of the titles in the Pandects; and then the number in the table shows the page. This is the most usual mode of referring to the Pandects, and that which I have followed. There are other ways of referring to the Pandects. Some writers give the first words of the law which they cite. Another mode of reference is thus: D. de jure dotium, L. profectitia, § si pater, meaning Digest (which is the same as the Pandects), title De jure Dotium, the law commencing with the word profectitia, and the paragraph commencing with the words si pater.

In some writers the letters Pand. are used instead of ff., or D., or Dig., all of which signify Justinian's Pandects.

Sometimes the letter or letters indicating the Pandects are placed last-thus:

L. profectitia, § si pater, D. De jure Dot.

Or the numbers of the law and paragraph are given instead of their initial wordsthus:

L. 5, § 6, De jure Dotium.

The law cited is sometimes indicated by the letters Fr. instead of L.

It is not unusual to cite the Pandects by the numbers of the book, title, law, and paragraph-thus: D. (or Pand. or ff.) 25. 3. 5. 6., or Lib. 25. tit. 3, L. 5, § 6. The three books in the Pandects, De Legatis et Fideicommissis, are cited by their numbers and their heading.

THE CODE.

The Code of Justinian is cited in the same way as the Pandects and indicated by the letters Cod. or C. And some writers use the letters Constit. (Constitutio) instead of L.

b

THE INSTITUTES.

Justinian's Institutes are indicated by the letters Inst. or Instit. or I. They are cited by the number of the paragraph, followed by the rubric or heading of the title-thus: § 3, Inst. De Nuptiis. The title is easily found by referring to the table of rubrics. Sometimes the reference is made by the numbers of the paragraph, book, or title—

thus:

§ 3, Inst. 1. 10.

The letters princ., pr. or princip. indicate the commencing paragraph of a title, as the numbering commences with the second.

The Novels, or later Constitutions in the Corpus Juris, are indicated by the words Nov. or Novel.

GROTIUS AND PUFENDORF.

Grotius and Pufendorf are cited from Barbeyrac's translations, because those translations are the books generally in use; and his notes on both, and his references from Grotius to Pufendorf, make the two works together one Corpus of the Law of Nations which has not yet been equalled in extent, learning, richness of illustration, and acumen. Like Co. Litt. these translations have superseded the original for practical and scientific purposes. So Pufendorf's little book De Officio Hominis et Civis is cited from Barbeyrac's translation, on account of his notes and references, which add much to its value.