engleski

Res sacrae in Romano-canonical legal tradition. Vicissitudes of a Roman legal concept in canon law and contemporary legal systems

The term res sacrae in Roman law in its developed form denotes a category of objects to which particular rules apply due to their association with sacredness. The category of res sacrae thus forms part of the well-known classification of res extra commercium, or objects exempted from regular commerce. In basic terms, the issue is in the manner in which an object becomes a res sacra and in the particular rules regarding its administration and regulation of its special position in the legal system, i.e. the restriction or outright prohibition of it being subject to a legal transaction or regular means of acquiring ownership. These matters have been recently extensively dealt with in literature. However, both terminologically and conceptually the importance of res sacrae stretches beyond the confines of the Roman law proper. The concept is relevant historically and contemporarily in canon law. Roman and canonical concept of res sacrae had such an influence throughout history that protection and special regulation thereof became a well-known and widely accepted principle in contemporary legal systems. Thus a concept stemming from Romano-canonical legal tradition has permeated contemporary legal systems and exists both in legislation and in legal discourse. Essentially, the main issue in this context is the establishment, control, administration and termination of an object being sacred throughout history. This problem has been analysed in the context of Roman law, regarding the clash and eventual amalgamation of corresponding pagan and Christian concepts in the first centuries of Christianity, regarding differences between the pagan and Christian concept of res sacrae and finally in the context of the shift in the Roman imperial legislation from addressing pagan to addressing Christian worship in the context of res sacrae, along with certain changes of the pertinent regulation. The aim of this paper is to analyse Roman legal concept of res sacrae particularly from the perspective of canon law throughout different phases of its history. In that way the analysis may help to determine in which measure did the original Roman concept of res sacrae influence the corresponding canonical concept, and the other way around, or in which measure did the Christian and canonical concept of a sacred object influence the Roman template, albeit while being subsumed under it terminologically and retaining a similar regulatory framework. Finally, the analysis addresses the general influence of such an amalgamated concept of res sacrae from the Romano- canonical legal tradition in contemporary context. In that way the analysis deals with the vicissitudes of res sacrae which have shifted both from the ancient Roman pagan religion to Christianity and Catholicism, and from Roman law to contemporary legal systems.

Res sacrae in Romano-canonical legal tradition. Vicissitudes of a Roman legal concept in canon law and contemporary legal systems

nije evidentirano