Reimbursement of expenses incurred by the buyer for the «res evicta» in classical and Justinian Roman law

Abstract

The paper focuses on a critical analysis of the selected Roman law sources concerning the issue of reimbursement of expenses incurred by the buyer for a thing which was then legally withdrawn from him (evictio) by a court decision due to a legal defect. In the introductory parts of the paper, attention is paid to the issue of legal defect of the thing sold in general and also to the analysis of three relevant sources that have been interpolated by Justinian jurists. In the following parts, the author introduces the two opposing opinions of the renowned legal Romanists (Salvatore Riccobono and Emilio Albertario) and then presents the legal regulation of the reimbursement of the expenses of the «res evicta», separately in classical and separately in Justinian Roman law. On the basis of a comparison of the two regulations, the author concludes that the Justinian legislation tended to limit the rights of the buyer of «res evicta».