Legal Definitions - sacramentum decisionis

Sacramentum decisionis refers to a historical legal concept, primarily from Roman civil law, where one party in a lawsuit proposes to resolve a disputed fact by accepting the sworn testimony of their adversary. Essentially, one party offers to let the other party's oath decide the outcome of a specific issue in the case. The opposing party then has a choice: either accept the offer and swear to their version of the facts, or make the same offer back to the first party. If they refuse to do either, it is generally taken as an admission that the facts are as the first party claimed. This mechanism was used when direct proof was difficult to obtain, relying on the solemnity and perceived truthfulness of an oath.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Dispute over a Verbal Agreement:

  Imagine a scenario where a small business owner, Mr. Chen, claims his client, Ms. Rodriguez, verbally agreed to pay an additional $1,000 for expedited service on a project. Ms. Rodriguez, however, insists no such agreement was made, and the original contract price covers all services. There are no witnesses or written records of this alleged verbal agreement.

  If this dispute were to be settled under a legal system that recognized sacramentum decisionis, Mr. Chen, finding it difficult to prove the verbal agreement, could offer to Ms. Rodriguez: "I will accept your sworn statement under oath that you never agreed to the additional $1,000 for expedited service as the final truth in this matter." Ms. Rodriguez would then be compelled to either take the oath, offer the same challenge back to Mr. Chen (e.g., "I'll accept your oath that I did agree"), or risk the court presuming she owes the money if she refused to engage with the oath.

• Ownership of a Lost Item:

  Consider two neighbors, David and Emily, who both claim ownership of an antique watch found in a shared garden area. David states he lost the watch there last year, while Emily claims it was her grandmother's watch, lost decades ago. Both have sentimental reasons for claiming it, but neither can produce definitive proof of prior ownership, such as a receipt or a unique identifying mark.

  In a legal context where sacramentum decisionis was applicable, David, unable to conclusively prove his ownership, could propose to Emily: "I will agree to accept your sworn testimony that this watch belonged to your grandmother and was lost by her, and I will relinquish my claim." Emily would then face the choice of swearing to her claim, reciprocating the offer to David, or implicitly conceding David's claim by refusing to participate in the oath-taking process.

• Fulfillment of a Debt with Missing Records:

  Suppose a tenant, Maria, claims she paid her landlord, Mr. Jones, the last two months' rent in cash, as was their usual arrangement. However, Mr. Jones asserts he never received these payments and has no record of them. Maria also lacks receipts for these specific cash payments, as they were not always provided.

  Under a system employing sacramentum decisionis, Maria, struggling to prove the cash payments, could offer to Mr. Jones: "I will accept your sworn statement under oath that you did not receive the last two months' rent from me." Mr. Jones would then be put in a position where his sworn word would legally settle the dispute, or he would have to make a similar offer back to Maria, or risk the court deciding against him by default if he refused to engage with the oath.