ROMAN-DUTCH LAW

a system of law that existed in the Netherlands' province of Holland from the 15th to the 19th century. Introduced by the Dutch into their colonies, it was retained in those areas that passed to the Britishi.e., the maritime districts of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the Cape of Good Hope, and the settlements on the coast of South America that made up British Guiana (now Guyana). In Ceylon it was extended to the Kandyan provinces (annexed by Britain in 1815), while in southern Africa it was carried during the 19th century into the Republic of the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and the British colony of Natal. Today, Roman-Dutch law is in force throughout South Africa and Namibia and in Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Botswana. In Sri Lanka it is present to a lesser degree, and in Guyana it was superseded in 1917 by the common law of England. In all these areas certain aspects of indigenous law and custom are acknowledged, and the general law of these countries has departed in many respects from its original type. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Roman law, as interpreted by medieval legists, was received in the province of Holland, as in other parts of northern Europe, particularly Germany, and combined in various ways with the general and local customs. The latter were based on Germanic tribal lawFrankish, Frisian, Saxonwhich had already been influenced by Roman law. A third element that went into the Roman-Dutch system was the legislative acts of the Burgundian and Spanish periods, most of which were passed during the 16th century. The result was a mixed system called Roman-Dutch law, which remained in force in the Netherlands until suspended in 1809 by the Napoleonic Code, which gave way in 1838 to the Dutch Civil Code. The old law was also abrogated in those colonies that had remained Dutch. Much of Roman-Dutch law can be found in collections of decided cases and opinions and in the juristic literature that was produced in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius and others, who attempted to reduce Roman-Dutch law to a system. Roman-Dutch law was followed in the Dutch colonial empire for several centuries. With the passing of certain colonies to the British crown, the old law underwent profound modifications, partly because of changed social and economic conditions and partly because of the incursion of rules and institutions derived from English law. The influence of English law, which was operative even during the period of the Transvaal and Orange Free State republics, has been most marked in criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, evidence, and constitutional law, particularly in the commercial field of companies, bills of exchange, maritime law, and insurance. The law of tort or delict has also been considerably affected by English doctrines. On the other hand, the laws relating to property, persons, succession, and, to a lesser extent, contracts still preserve their predominantly Roman-Dutch character. It is, for example, the case in both South Africa and Sri Lanka that consideration (quid pro quo agreement by both parties) is not necessary for the validity of a contract. In South Africa much of the law has been amended, explained, and made uniform; many rules have been pronounced obsolete by disuse. In many areas of Roman-Dutch law, however, the texts of the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian are still cited as authoritative, and the approach to them is still through the writings of Grotius and others. the system of law produced by the fusion of early modern Dutch law, chiefly of Germanic origin, and Roman, or civil, law. It existed in the Netherlands province of Holland from the 15th to the early 19th century and was carried by Dutch colonists to the Cape of Good Hope, where it became the foundation of modern South African law. It also influenced the legal systems of other countries that had once been Dutch colonies, such as Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and Guyana. Today Roman-Dutch law is in force throughout the Republic of South Africa and South West Africa/Namibia, and in Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. In Sri Lanka it is present to a lesser degree, and in Guyana was from 1917 largely superseded by the common law of England. Reservation is made in favour of indigenous law and custom, so far as these are recognized; moreover the general law of these countries has in many respects departed from its original type.