Vol.1, No 7, 2003 pp. 763-789
UDC 340.13 (37): 347. 132. 14
AEQUITAS AND BONA FIDES IN THE LEGAL PRACTICE
OF ANCIENT ROME AND THE PROHIBITION
OF THE ABUSE OF RIGHTS
Mila Jovanović
Niš
Abstact. The topic of this paper is a short overview of the principles aequitas and bona fides in the legal practice of ancient Rome and the analysis of a few examples of the prevention of the abuse of rights, based on these principles. The aim of the paper is to suggest the legislator that, in addition to a specific emphasis given to the prohibition of the abuse of rights, the future Serbian Civil Law Code (a project currently in progress) should stress the principles of justness, conscientiousness, and honesty, and that judges should be allowed more freedom in the application of these principles, in order for abuse of rights to be more successfully prevented in particular cases, much more numerous than legally expressible. This proposal implies the competence of judges, who should be up to this task both professionally and ethically in the very complex Serbian circumstances. In the end of the paper, dilemmas and opinions of some authors regarding ways to prevent present-day abuse of rights are given. An answer to the question from the beginning is also offered, i.e. it is concluded that judges should be given more freedom in the application of the principles aequitas and bona fides, in order for abuse of law to be prevented as successfully as possible (this especially applies to those new instances which cannot be foreseen in the legal acts). Along with this, a position is presented that perhaps, like old Romans, we should stress today that judicial application of law implies the respect of justice, and that in justice there is indeed something divine; this would , with a strong responsibility of the judge, imply a necessity to bring justice and law as close to each other as possible.
Key words:  Serbian Civil Law Code (project); ancient Rome, the classical age and the age of Justinian; legal practice; aequitas and bona fides; the prohibition of the abuse of rights.
AEQUITAS I BONA FIDES U PRAVNOJ PRAKSI ANTIČKOG RIMA I ZABRANA ZLOUPOTREBE PRAVA
Predmet ovoga rada je kratak osvrt na principe aequitas i bona fides u pravnoj praksi antičkog Rima i analiza nekoliko primera sprečavanja zloupotrebe prava, baziranog na primeni ovih principa. Cilj rada je sugestija zakonodavcu da se, uz posebno naglašavanje zabrane zloupotrebe prava, u budućem Građanskom zakoniku Srbije (na čijem se projektu trenutno radi) istaknu principi pravičnosti, savesnosti i poštenja i da se dopusti sudijama veća sloboda u primeni ovih principa, radi uspešnijeg sprečavanja zloupotrebe prava u konkretnim slučajevima, brojnijim no što se to može zakonski izraziti. Pri tom se podrazumeva kompetentnost sudija, njihova stručna i etička doraslost zadatku u vrlo složenim srpskim prilikama. Na kraju rada se iznose dileme i mišljenja nekih autora u pogledu načina sprečavanja brojnih današnjih vidova zloupotrebe prava. Zatim se daje odgovor na pitanje s početka rada, odnosno zaključuje se da treba sudijama dati više slobode u primeni principa aequitas i bona fides, radi što uspešnijeg sprečavanja zloupotrebe prava (posebno novih vidova, koji se možda ne mogu zakonski predvideti). Pri tom se iznosi stav da bi možda, poput starih Rimljana, trebalo i danas naglasiti kako sudska primena prava podrazumeva poštovanje pravde i da u pravdi ima nečeg božanskog; a to bi značilo, uz naglašenu odgovornost sudije, težnju ka što većem približavanju pravde i prava.
Ključne reči: Građanski zakonik Srbije (projekat); antički Rim, klasično i doba Justinijana; pravna praksa; aequitas i bona fides; zabrana zloupotrebe prava.