Donationem non facit? Donations to people in potestate of the donor in Roman law

Summary

The paper focuses on the phenomenon of donation to people in potestate of the donor. Even though this kind of donation was an old practice in Roman society, classical jurisprudence considered it void due to the lack of legal capacity of the people alieni iuris. However, we can see that beginning from the Severian age, the jurists and then the imperial chancery gradually stated the validity of these acts of liberality, contingent upon certain conditions primarily based on the donor’s voluntas. The analysis of responsa and rescripta related to this subject highlights how this concessio worked under a juridical point of view, along with its progression. Finally, it is highlighted how this interpretatio was part of a broader phenomenon occurring in the 3rd century a.d. and aimed to value the donor’s voluntas.