Der Eigentumserwerb durch traditio

Abstract

Summary The acquisition of property by traditio, In addition, putative iusta causa traditionis and consequences for the doctrine of condictio. – The Justinian Digest contain a number of texts in which the traditio transfers ownership, although the ‘causa’ on account of which the delivery takes place, does not exist in fact. The paper attempts to show that this phenomenon cannot be explained through a broad acceptance of the putative causa traditionis, because the Roman concept of the traditio ex iusta causa differed from that of the ‘titulus-modus-doctrine’. The classical Roman law considered the iusta causa in most cases as the purpose of the delivery, for which the traditio was a means to achieve; the (non-)achievement of the intended purpose did not decide on the transfer of ownership, but only whether the recovery of the performance (condictio) was admissible. This shows the way Roman law favored the transfer of ownership.