Id quod interest
They usually referred to "id quod interest" that had to be awarded to the plaintiff. "Quod interest" did not denote a specific method of assessment; in particular, it did not encapsulate a Roman form of "Differenztheorie".
Quod actoris interest refers to the plaintiffs "interest" (in the modern sense of the word): he has to get what he was interested in, what concerned him, what was of consequence to him; for, interestingly, the expression is not derived from interesse (— to be in between) but from the phrase "quod fmea, tua, nostra etc.) in re est" (what is in it for me, you, us, etc. )-292 Generally speaking, quod interest was the more modern and flexible counterconcept to the somewhat crude and limiting idea of awarding "quanti ea res est", and it signified a shift from an objective, standardized point of view to a more sophisticated and equitable approach, characterized by individualizing and, on the whole, subjective"93 criteria. What quod interest entailed could differ from action to action and from case to case and every generalization would be dangerous. The classical lawyers did little to develop and systematize this area of the law. Assessment of quod interest was largely left to the individual iudex, about whose activity, in turn, we hardly possess any sources.244 All we can do, therefore, is to list a variety of items that were capable of being included sub titulo quod interest.Obviously, in case of non-performance, the value of the object owed provided the most convenient starting point for the assessment: this [4235] value, after all, was according to the contractual "programme" supposed to have been transferred to the plaintiff. Apart from that, the plaintiff's loss of profits could be included. Paulus ("...
quantum mea interfuit, id est quantum mihi abest quantumque lucrari potui")295 confirms that in abstracto, and Neratius provides a good example when he writes:"Et non solum quod ipse per eum adquisii praestare debco, sed et id, quod emptor iam tune sibi tradito servo adquisiturus fuisset."291'
A vendor who owes a slave falls in mora. He has to hand over to the purchaser whatever he acquires, in the course of his mora, through the slave. But if the purchaser would have acquired more, had the slave been handed over in time, the vendor is even liable for this extra amount. This form of loss has since the Middle Ages come to be referred to as "lucrum cessans", as opposed to "damnum emergens", the damage to the existing assets of the plaintiff.297 Under certain circumstances, consequential loss could be recovered, particularly where defective objects had been sold or leased. The discussions surrounding leaky vats, toxic plants and the delivery of infectious cattle spring to mind.298 Where the creditor had incurred a penalty or forfeited a pledge as a result of his debtor's mora, he was able to assert this loss too.29 The same applied if it turned out that the creditor himself had now become liable to a third party.300 Where a purchaser had a specific interest in an object that exceeded its (objective) market value, he could claim on the basis of the former: what mattered was quod actoris interest. This is confirmed by Ulp. D. 19, 1, 1 pr.:
"Si res vendita non tradatur, in id quod interest agitur, hoc est quod rem habere interest emptoris: hoc autem intcrdum pretium egreditur, si pluris interest, quam res valet vel empta est."301 [4236] [4237] [4238] [4239] [4240] [4241] [4242] [4243] [4244] [4245] [4246] [4247] [4248] [4249] 4.
More on the topic Id quod interest:
- The determination of quod interest
- QUOD INTEREST, DAMAGES AND BREACH OF CONTRACT
- 1. Praestatio eius quod debetur
- II THE HISTORY OF THE INTEREST RATES AND USURY
- "Quod metus causa gestum erit, ratum non habeo"
- Those with a keen interest may wish to consult Boardman, J., Griffin, )., and Murray, O. (eel s.) (2001), The Oxford History' of the Roman World, Oxford:
- In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the rise of nationalism and the consolidation of royal power in Europe entailed an increased interest in the development of national law and thereby precipitated the movement towards codification.
- Sint ista Graecorum, quamquam ab iis philosophiam et omnes ingenuas disciplinas habemus, sed tamen est aliquid, quod nobis non liceat, liceat illis. Cicero, De finibus, 2. 21. 68.
- Libro XII Nel dodicesimo libro la trattazione del giurista si sofferma sugli editti quod eo auctore qui tutor non fuerit (gestum [?]) esse dicatur (E. 43), ex quibus causis maiores viginti quinque annis in integrum restituuntur (E. 44), de lite restituenda (E. 45), de alienatione iudicii mutandi causafacta (E. 46), de restitutione heredum (E. 47 [?])[480].
- The lex Sancimus (C. 7, 47, 1)
- 1. Restoration, damages and "Dtfferenztheorie "
- Liability arising from specific prormssa