Only the first lecture was able to take place, due to health restrictions linked to the pandemic.
The word equity has always been a way of expressing the desire for justice. But how can we agree on its content, if the desire for justice arises precisely from disagreement, from conflict ? Rome, through its rhetors and philosophers, gave us a profound reflection onaequitas. Jurists have made it the very heart of their work. Reflecting on Roman history implies both summoning up equity in its lived, human dimension, and taking hold, from an internal point of view, of rigorous thought, which has influenced the modern idea of equity. In this first lecture, the starting point is not only etymology, but also iconography. For the Romans, equity was close to, yet distinct from, justice - which prompts us, in turn, to consider the differences - and linked to the idea of the operation of measurement. To come into play, it presupposes a human group, a society, concerned with its cohesion. Being in the same boat is a metaphor, but also a real condition, which puts fairness to the test when an opposing storm arises : jurists are then faced with the problem of how to share the losses incurred.
This first lecture takes etymology and iconography as its starting points. For the Romans, equity is close to, yet distinct from, justice - which prompts us to consider the differences between the two. Equity is strictly linked to the idea and operations of measurement. To come into play, it presupposes a human group, i.e. a society, concerned with its cohesion. Being in the same boat is a metaphor, but also a real condition, which puts equity to the test when an opposing storm arises : jurists - and society, faced with a dramatic situation - are then faced with the problem of establishing how to share the losses incurred (the case of general average, discussed by Paul in his commentary on the Praetor's edict, Digest 14.2.2).
