Il ruolo della 'fides' nei fenomeni aggregativi in Roma antica

Fides was a fundamental normative parameter in every kind of association: already in societas omnium inter omnes there was a natural law that required compliance with the agreed commitments, but even more important was the principle of fides for the regulatory framework of populus Romanus, called societas civium. In the archaic period fides was the reference criterion for the effects arising from important interpersonal relationships, such as clientela or sodalitates. Finally, societas contract found its first rules in the bona fides, a normative criterion that originated from the new commercial context and which affected all aspects of the contract: origin, structure, distribution of profits and losses, partners’ liability, bond’s dissolution and judicial action.