법학전문대학원 로마법 수업의 현황과 과제 -서울대학교 법학대학원의 경험을 중심으로-

This paper is an amplified version of my presentation on December 20th, 2014 before the colleagues of the Korean Society of Legal History. The presentation style is preserved in accordance with its character as a report of personal teaching experiences in Roman law at my law school. The curriculum of my school takes into account the basic fields of law like Roman law, legal history, philosophy of law, etc. as a group out of which a student must hear one of his free choice. In that I am essentially in a good position in comparison with the colleagues of other schools. However, the situation seems in reality not so different as may appear at first sight. As most of the scholars predicted, the balance-sheet shows that since the introduction of the law school system Roman law plays even meager role than ever before evidently on account of an one-sided orientation to the national bar examination of the law students as a whole. Besides, there exist as before continuing difficulties in procuring learning and teaching materials. The most urgent task is to provide with reading materials in Korean. Not to mention the original legal texts of the Romans which are written either in Latin or in Greek, available materials are mostly written in European languages not accessible for the most of Korean jurists. For all that, I present selected examples from my lectures to help enable the Korean public to get an impression Roman law conveys even today. The prospect for the future of Roman law is indeed not bright, but an ideal paradigm for the theory of decision-making and of legal reasoning the classical jurists’ achievements offer can, as Franz Wieacker once ascertained, still be put to use in our society today. It is hoped that this paper evokes intensified interests and dedication to the issue on the side of the legal scholars and practical jurists alike and helps overcome the difficulties confronting us in the near future.