It is generally accepted that the term “pecunia” derives from “pecus” – the initial designation for cattle as a cumulative concept and which
according to most authors was not only the basis of wealth for all peoples of the Antiquity but also an exchange equivalent before the existence of money. This
is the way the whole movable property was called initially and generally, over which pater familias private property is established and which constitutes
the property of the patriarchal Roman family. It is delineated from familia whereas by means of the same lexeme not only the large family
community itself under the guardianship and power of pater familias is designated but also the real property, separated and allotted for use by it over which only much later and under special conditions is private possession acquired first, followed by private ownership. Gradually, the material quality of pecunia changes and it also starts to designate the money included in the patrimonium of the homeowner and, in some cases, the value equivalent of the entire family property.
The topic of property has always been of particular interest not only in romanistics but also in modern law. A large number of the Roman legal concepts
have their own specific projection, especially in terms of the separation of distinct property circles with a specific regime within a given patrimonium, the determination of company capital and of the property belonging to other legal entities, public property, public finances, etc. Thus, the tradition of the journal to offer its readers both private and public law topics, related not only to ancient Rome but also to modern legal studies and practices, finds a place in the fifth year since the creation of the IUS ROMANUM journal. Along with this a topic considered in 2017 is further developed – FAMILIA, while back then the focus of the journal was rather on social and ethical aspects of the Roman patriarchal family, property topics remained to be discussed in the current issue. Thus, a notion which is topical and generally used in the doctrine as well as in the practice is fully presented through the prism of the Romanistic tradition.
In the journal once again papers fall into two sections – those related mainly with Roman law and those dedicated to modern property relations where Roman law elements could be discerned. Quite naturally, in the beginning there are two papers.