Folia Theologica 11. (2000)

Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi: The Character of Juridical Personality of Monastery as a Community of Persons up to the 13th Century

THE CHARACTER OF JURIDICAL PERSONALITY

107

ity, which is a manifestation of religious community, took into consideration the jurisdiction of the competent bishop.36

II. The ‘juridical person’ — Corpus-Collegium-Universitas - in the Roman law

If we want to speak about the monastery as a juridical person, we have to give a brief outline of the background to Roman law.

The scholarly opinions about the development and content of the concept of the juridical person are different.37 The Roman law did not deal with juridical persons independently, however it considered them as a body composed of members.38 The status of Roman cities is a typical example.39 These were the subjects of the Roman political organization, but they were independent in local cases (D 50. 16. 16).40 The pretor made possible their participation in legal action by a procurator, as we can read in Ulpian (D 3. 4. 7).41 The city (civium, municipium) correhilque ultra in spiritualibus aut temporalibus exigant in ipsis monasteriis vel usurpent. Si qui vero talium a visitatoribus inventi fuerint criminosi, per dioecesanum episcopum in non exemptis, et per visitatores vel praesidentes, generali capitulo in exemptis monasteriis beneficiis priventur eisdem. Haec autem omnia etiam in monasteriis, quae non habent abbates proprios, sed priores, nec non in monasteriis monialium, quod articulos abbatissis et monialibus congruentes, praecipimus observari.” Friedberg, Corpus luris (nt. 9), tom. II, col. 602.

36 See Speculum iudiciale Gulielmi Durantis, Basiliae 1574, foil. 304—305.

37 The juridical persons derived from Roman law by researchers, but they do not agree in problems of philosophy law. Such are the fiction theory, best represented by Carl Friedrich von Savigny, or M. M. Móra (vid. Az egyházi adó és az egyházközség alapkérdései, Budapest 1941, 108—111); the theory of reality, see O. GIERKE, Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, I—VI. Berlin 1868-1913; E. ZlTELMANN, Begriff und sogenannten juristischen Personen, Leipzig 1873; J. Binder, Philosophie des Rechts, Berlin 1925; and the theory, which eliminates the juridical person, see R. Ihering, Geist des römischen Rechts auf den verschiedenen Stufen seiner Entwicklung, I, Leipzig 1865.

38 Földi - Hamza, A római jog (nt. 15), 226, 231.

39 A. Burdese, Manuale di diritto privato romano, Torino 1975. 166.

40 “Eum qui vectigal populi Romani conductum habet, ‘publicanum’ appellamus. nam ‘publica’ appellatio in compluribus causis ad populum Romanum respicit: civitates enim privatorum loco habentur”, T. Mommsen, Institutiones, Digesta (Corpus iuris civilis I), P. Krüger (retr.), Berolini 1928, 857.

41 “Sicut municipium nomine actionem praetor dedit, ita et adversus eos iustis- sime edicendum putavit, sed et legato, qui in negotium publicum sumptum