Roman law in the national accounting perspective: Usus, fructus and abusus

Abstract

Application of accounting discipline to the organization of economic data aids in both collection and interpretation of economic and jurisprudential knowledge, for it highlights gaps in the basic statistics and clarifies interrelations among the parts of the structure. The legal systems of nearly all countries are generally modeled upon four legal systems: Mesopotamian law, Roman law, Islamic law and Anglo-Norman law. The first half of the paper compares the four legal systems in detail. The foundation of any accounting system, including national accounting, is a balance sheet that lists assets and liabilities; assets include both property rights and claims while liabilities are legal responsibilities and obligations. Therefore, special attention is given to the Roman law of things, which has furnished the foundations of much of the modern law of property and obligations in civil law systems. Usus, fructus and abusus have been recognized as pillars of private property since the antiquity. Although the concepts are intrinsic to property rights, they are useful tools to delineate the characteristics of claims and obligations. Some accounting examples are given at the end of the paper.