The <i>jus commune</i> Doctrine and the Formation of Public Law Institutions

Abstract

This article considers the role of the jus commune doctrine in the process of formation of institutions of public law in the period 11th-17th century as a functionally organised construction of legal reality. The research is based on the communicative methodology of law and, on the grounds of the historical and legal facts, shows how the functions of the doctrine were manifested when jus commune influenced the medieval legal reality. It concludes that the jus commune doctrine, based on the axiomatic method, by interpreting the texts of Roman and canon law, filling legal gaps and eliminating contradictions in customary, canonical and positive law, made a significant contribution to the construction of the public law segment of legal reality — the institutions of public law.

Keywords

• doctrine
• communicative theory of law
• juridical reality
• public law
• romano-germanic legal family
• medieval law
• jus commune