W. W. Buckland – författare

Roman Law, since its earliest days of the XII Tables, to the Justinian code over one thousand years later, is arguably the most influential body of law ever developed, remaining at the core of European legal systems until the end of the eighteenth century and informing the civil law and (to a lesser extent) the common law to this day. The first edition of Peter Buckland's classic textbook on the subject was published in 1921. Professor Peter Stein's revised third edition published in 1963 updated the original so that it reflected Professor Buckland's own later thoughts on the subject until his death in 1945. This revised edition examines the law of the Empire (or classical law) and also tracks later developments, including the legislation of Justinian. It is primarily concerned with the law but historical developments are also kept in view, so as to give the student the broadest perspective on the subject.

Roman Law and Common Law was first published in 1936. The second edition, entirely reset, revised throughout and supplemented by Professor F. H. Lawson, Fellow of Brasenose College and Professor of Comparative Law in the University of Oxford, appeared in 1952. This was done at the suggestion of Lord McNair, who read the revised copy. Professor Lawson's work of revision was extensive and touches every part of the book. In 1965 many small corrections were made. The book remains in this edition a 'comparison in outline'. It does not set out to be a comprehensive statement of Roman Law and Common Law comparatively treated, or a comparative study of legal methods. It is concerned rather with the fundamental rules and institutions of the two systems, and examines the independent approaches of the two peoples and their lawyers to the same facts of human life.

'Jurisprudence', the author writes, 'is a most hospitable word. It can be understood to include not only the analysis of legal concepts, but also all those topics which are discussed under the rubric 'philosophy of law'. Writers on these subjects are either those concerned with the rational basis of law - why law is binding on us and what are the limits on the binding force; or those who seek to formulate an ideal system of law.' It is these writers and their theories and arguments, so far as they make contact with positive law, which form the main topic of the present work, which was originally published in 1949.

Originally published in 1912, this book presents a running commentary on the Institutes of Gaius and the Code of Justinian, with an eye to the ways in which laws were practically applied to Roman life. Buckland addresses such thorny legal issues as the ownership and manumission of slaves, property law, and intestacy. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Roman law.

First published in 1939, this book is the second edition of a 1925 original. Aimed at beginners, it sets forth the main principles of Roman Law from both classical and later times, avoiding discussion of the problems involved in a more advanced study of the subject. Chapters are divided into three broad areas, concerning laws relating to persons, things and actions. An additional discussion of the sources and arrangement of laws is also provided. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Roman law and legal history.

This 1931 book was written to replace The Elementary Principles of Roman Law, but it is not a second edition of that book. It is more systematic in plan: it aims at giving a central view of the different institutions of the Private Law and of the notions which underlie them. But its purpose is the same: its is for the use of students who have read the Institutes and little more, and it is intended to stimulate rather than to inform. It will still be of interest today.