IUS AND DERECTUM: THE REVOLUTION BROUGHT BY CHRISTIANITY IN ROMAN LAW AND ITS LEGACY IN THE LAW’S METHOD

Claudio Brandao; Pedro Rubens Oliveira S.J.

doi:10.24861/2675-1038.v7i2.162

Claudio Brandao Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais - BR
Pedro Rubens Oliveira S.J. Catholic University of Pernambuco - BR

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24861/2675-1038.v7i2.162

Abstract

Roman law was the product of a realistic construction that did not start from generalizations but used an art to build the verdict by induction. It was the authority of the legal expert that was the basis of the legitimacy of his ability to create law, by demarcating the boundary between what was lawful and what was unlawful. This inductive methodology was not consistent with the religious tradition revealed by Judaism and Christianity, since following a path is related to the commandment in their sacred scriptures for the regulation of conducts. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, therefore, the methodology of law is a deduction. From these different methodologies, one can understand the conceptual shift from ius to derectum (directum). This methodological change was followed by a hermeneutical revolution, the spread in the Christianized Roman Empire of the Pauline dichotomy of 'letter and spirit', which produced “fruits” that are still felt today.

Author Biographies

Claudio Brandao, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais - BR

Full Professor. Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais and Federal University of Pernambuco - Brazil. Dean of PhD and LL.M program, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais - Brazil. Visiting professor, under the Erasmus Office, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon (2009 hitherto). Visiting professor, University of Rome - Tor Vergata (2019; 2022). Visiting professor, Catholic University of Portugal (2007).

Pedro Rubens Oliveira S.J., Catholic University of Pernambuco - BR

Rector, Catholic University of Pernambuco - Brazil. Doctor Honoris Causa, Catholic University of Lille. President of FIUC – International Federation of Catholics Universities (2012-2015; 2015-2018). PhD, Centre Sèvres Jesuit College, Paris - FR