Historical background of solidarity in European law

After a short introduction outlining what we mean by Roman Law, we will explain why it is considered the historical background to EU private law, referring to statements made by Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) editors. Considering the role of Roman Law in the European legal tradition, we will pose the following question: what is the position of Roman Law in relation to Individualism or Solidarity? During the 20th century there was a deeply embedded assumption that Roman Law, from a legal perspective, was the highest expression of individualism and of the ideology of capitalistic societies. This assumption emphasised the individualistic features of some Roman Law institutions, such as the powers of the head of the family, the freedom of will, the owner’s powers over land, house and slaves, and the creditor’s powers over the debtor’s body. However, a quite different perspective is offered by an objective analysis of Roman Law sources in the context of their historical development. To discuss this perspective, we will take into consideration examples from Family law, Inheritance law, Property law and Law of obligations.