Sea loan

The sea loan ( lat. Faenus nauticum , pecunia traiecticia ) was a real contract of Roman law and a subspecies of the mutuum (loan).

The sea loan goes back to Greek origins. The debtor received a loan with which he could finance sea transport and the purchase of goods. The loan was usually repayable at the port of destination where the goods were deposited. Since the contract often also included marine insurance, both the outward and return journeys of the ship were covered. Since the ship sailed under these conditions at the risk of the creditor , the loan could not be repaid if the ship went down. Since the loan interest was offset against the insurance premium, the 1% interest rate limit customary at the end of the Republican era did not apply, which is why it can be seen as “risk capital” in the form of an “investment loan ”. Two sea loans have survived, one from the year 149 (Palestine) and another from India.

The marine trade law institute of Bodmerei , which was abandoned in Germany, was derived from the type of business of the sea loan . This saw the pledge in front of ship and cargo by the captain, who in any of both property held.

literature

Stephan Schuster: The sea loan in the court speeches of Demosthenes. With an outlook on the further historical development: dánein nautikón, fenus nauticum and Bodmerei. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11778-6 .
Hans-Joachim Drexhage , Heinrich Konen, Kai Ruffing : The economy of the Roman Empire in the modern interpretation: some considerations. In: Karl Strobel (Ed.): Die Ökonomie des Imperium Romanum: Structures, models and evaluations in the field of tension between modernism and neoprimitivism , St. Katharinen 2002, ISBN 3-89590-135-0 . Pp. 51-55.

Remarks

^ Digest 22, 2.
^ Heinrich Honsell : Roman law. 5th, supplemented edition. Springer, Berlin et al. 2001, ISBN 3-540-42455-5 , p. 120.
^ Moses I. Finley : The Ancient Economy . 1973. Dt. The ancient economy 3., through. and exp. Edition dtv, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-423-04277-X . Pp. 141-143 and 196-198. Full view
^ Heinrich Honsell, Theo Mayer-Maly , Walter Selb : Römisches Recht , based on the work of Paul Jörs , Wolfgang Kunkel , Leopold Wenger in the 4th revised edition (= Encyclopedia of Law and Political Science : Law Department. Roman Law. ), 1987, p. 299.

[1] Digest 22, 2.

[2] Heinrich Honsell : Roman law. 5th, supplemented edition. Springer, Berlin et al. 2001, ISBN 3-540-42455-5 , p. 120.

[3] Moses I. Finley : The Ancient Economy . 1973. Dt. The ancient economy 3., through. and exp. Edition dtv, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-423-04277-X . Pp. 141-143 and 196-198. Full view

[4] Heinrich Honsell, Theo Mayer-Maly , Walter Selb : Römisches Recht , based on the work of Paul Jörs , Wolfgang Kunkel , Leopold Wenger in the 4th revised edition (= Encyclopedia of Law and Political Science : Law Department. Roman Law. ), 1987, p. 299.