Limitation of liability: Roman foundations of a private law dogma

Abstract

This work discusses the possibility of considering the limitation of liability as a dogma of modern law, in a methodological perspective that privileges the relationship between legal doctrine and legal history. The research, first, draws some basic explanations about the importance of identifying dogmas in terms of legal history and comparative law. In this analysis, it is reviewed the importance acquired by the idea of limitation of liability during the last century, firstly since the emergence of limited liability companies, and later, through the introduction of the figure of the individual companies with limited liability. The pointed out importance would indicate acceptance of limited liability as a structural part of the legal system. Finally, it is identified in the Roman world a first manifestation of this dogma, even though the work expresses reservations about the possibility of drawing an evolutionary line, given the current state of knowledge.