The Roman Law of Obligations

The Roman Law of Obligations presents a series of lectures delivered by the late Peter Birks as an introductory course in Roman law. Discovered in complete manuscript form following his death, the lectures are published here for the first time.

The lectures present a clear conceptual map of the Roman law of obligations, guiding readers through the institutional structure of contract, delict, quasi-contract, and quasi-delict. They introduce readers to the terminology needed to understand the foundations of Roman law, and the conceptual framework of the law of obligations that left an enduring legacy on European private law.

The lectures offer an invaluable introduction to Roman private law for those coming to the subject for the first time. They will also make stimulating reading for academics and lawyers interested in Roman law, European legal history, and the lasting influence of Roman law on modern private law.

Peter Birks, The late Regius Professor of Civil Law, University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College

The late Peter Birks was Regius Professor of Civil Law in the University of Oxford, and Fellow of All Souls College. Widely renowned for his work on Roman law, the English law of obligations, and legal history, he was founder of the Clarendon Law Lectures, editor of the Clarendon Law Series, and editor of the Oxford English Law Series.


Eric Descheemaeker is a Lecturer in European private law at the University of Edinburgh. A former doctoral student of Peter Birks, he specializes in comparative private law and legal history. He is the author ofThe Division of Wrongs (OUP, 2009).