The Roman Law of Persons

The Roman Law of Persons

What laws and norms governed Roman society and do they have any bearing on our modern understanding of personal rights? Professor Richard Epstein explains Roman laws involving marriage and family, and how these familial arrangements were the earliest roots of corporations. He also tackles the difficult topic of slavery in the Roman world: how it could exist in a positive law system while being contrary to natural law.

Play the next video in the series?

Watch Now

1 of 5: What Does the Natural Law Say About Individual Persons? Guardianship and Incompetence [No. 86]

If every person has natural individual rights, what considerations should guide decisions made by a guardian of another person? Professor Richard Epstein discusses guardianship arrangements and duties between parents and children. Parents are natur ... If every person has natural individual rights, what considerations should guide decisions made by a guardian of another person?

Professor Richard Epstein discusses guardianship arrangements and duties between parents and children. Parents are naturally inclined to nurture their children, and the legal system only intervenes if there is abuse or neglect. Similarly, in the case of an elderly parent or incapacitated relative, the family should exercise a considerate guardianship and closely monitor any third party caregiver.

Professor Richard Epstein is the inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Professor of Law Emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago.

* * * * *

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Subscribe to the series’ playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWwcngsYgoUUv5NgIyRXaZDVLZ_0jzYPC