Abstract

PETRAK, Marko. Plato and Ulpian's praecepta iuris. Fundamina (Pretoria) [online]. 2014, vol.20, n.2, pp.694-701. ISSN 2411-7870.

The purpose of this contribution is to analyse the Platonic foundations of Ulpian's famous praecepta iuris (honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere) (D. 1,1,10,1). Ulpian's praecepta iuris embody the fundamental principles of the modern law of obligations. They are the indispensable basis of contemporary legal theory and practice in the law of delict and contract law. Some modern scholars believe that the sources of these precepts are the writings of Stoic philosophers. In the author's opinion, however, Ulpian's praecepta iuris have their origin in Plato's concept of justice. These tria praecepta may be traced to the first book of Plato's Politeia and specifically the maieutic dialogue between Socrates and his collocutors on the foundations of justice, where all three precepts are to be found together for the first time in the same context.

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