L’emersione dello ius “publicum”: ‘istituto giuridico’ o ‘concetto politico’? Peculiarità della concezione romana e articolazioni storiche

The work considers the dogmatic profiles of the ancient, elastic distinction between ius publicum and ius privatum and the historical processes that have led the ‘contemporary’ legal science to the modern, rigid contrast between the sections of public law and private law. The thesis supported is that it is necessary to avoid assimilating the ancient distinction to the modern contrast, because the reference models of the underlying legal question are opposed: the unitary consideration of the multiplicity of deeds carried out by a collectivity of people with the ancient Roman solution of the societas and the medieval and modern solution of the legal person.