Walenty Maciej Tepper's Doctoral Dissertation on Roman Law of Succession

Abstract

The author presents her observations resulting from the researches on teaching Roman law at the Zamość Academy in 18th century. From the beginnings the Academy was allowed to create doctors of Roman (civil) and canon law , but during ten final years of the Academy’s existence doctoral promotions become especially numerous. In 1772 Zamość was taken over by Austria as a result of the first partition of Poland, so the Zamość Academy was afraid of the possibility to loose its rights, privileges and prerogatives.

Walenty Maciej Tepper (born about 1747, died in 1810) was giving lectures on Polish law at the Zamość Academy since 1778 to 1780, and then, till the fall of the Academy in 1784, he was the professor of law of nature and nations. This paper discusses a dissertation on Roman law of succession written by him (in Latin) in 1779 to receive a doctoral degree in law. Tepper gives the outline of Roman intestate succession in the light of Justinian’s ligislation, comparing some Roman rules to Polish and Austrian law. He adds also a few notes concerning Lithuanian, French and canon law.

The Tepper's dissertation, including thirty four pages, is devided into five propositions. Tepper is using the scholastic method, behind his times, but applied to scholary writing in Zamość even in 18th century. Although Roman intestate succession was commented in Polish and European literature many times before, the Tepper's dissertation claims attention as an interesting example of legal publications of Academy's professors.