Two LUF grants for Legal History
The Leiden University Fund (LUF) recently awarded two grants for research in the field of legal history. This funding will support projects on tombstone protection and limitation of maritime liability, conducted by PhD candidates Eva Drommel and Tim Lubbers.
Shortly before the Christmas break, LUF announced that it has honoured two applications for research in the field of legal history. From the Roman Law Southern France Fund, €12,000 has been granted for research into the protection of tombstones. From the Mr.ir. Deisz Barendregt Fund, €13,500 has been awarded for research on limitation of maritime liability. Professor Egbert Koops was the main applicant for the funding. The research will be conducted by Eva Drommel and Tim Lubbers, both PhD candidates at the Department of Legal History.
Protection of the burial rest period and tombstones
Eva Drommel will conduct research into the Roman protection of the burial rest period and tombstones. A safe final resting place for the deceased is a delicate issue in all times. For the Romans, the tomb was a place where the deceased was laid to rest to be honoured by their descendants. Tombs were built like little houses in a kind of city of the dead, called a necropolis. The signs on a tomb indicated for whom and by whom the tomb had been built. The texts excluded outsiders and threatened them with punishment for violating the burial rest peirod. So, access was forbidden for unauthorised persons. Tombs and their signs were religious matters (res religiosa), but the texts on the tombs had legal consequences in the world of the living. Grave desecration was a serious offence and had various consequences under private and criminal law. This raises the question whether the protection of the burial rest period was primarily a matter for the next of kin or still for the public authorities. Or was it up to the grave marker to choose between the two? The study will examine how private law and criminal law enforcement of the Roman burial rest period took place, and how the remedies from these jurisdictions are related.
Limitation of maritime liability
Tim Lubbers is writing his PhD on the historical development of the limitation of maritime liability. Although this age-old legal concept plays an important role in maritime commercial practice, little is known about its historical roots. The grant from the Deisz Barendregt Fund will allow the implications from the doctoral research to be translated for a wider audience. Tim will write two articles on the topic. In the first article, he will assess the strength of legal history arguments put forward in the ongoing debate on the desirability and justification of the limitation of liability. A second article will be aimed at specialists in maritime law practice and will discuss the position of shipping companies in Dutch law.
The award of these two LUF grants gives another boost to legal history research in Leiden. The research will lead to the publication of several articles. As a result, the PhD students' current appointments will be extended for the duration of these projects.