The course will provide an overview of the institutes of Roman private law as a foundation of the civil law systems. It will give the students the opportunity to learn and understand how, under which external and internal influences, different institutions, concepts and principles of private law were developed during the Roman legal history. It will be first presented the historical framework and the sources through which the law was created. Afterwards, according to the Gaius’ tripartition, the basic notions of status law and family law will be studied. This will be followed with the analysis of property law and the law of obligations. In the latter, the focus will be on the individual sources of obligations, especially contracts, whereby, based on the exegesis of the primary sources, students will be given an insight in the modes of legal argumentation of Roman jurists. In the end, it will be given an overview of general principles and institutes of the law of inheritance and the Roman civil procedure. Providing the background, legal logic and arguments used in the development of Roman private law, the course should also enable students to better understand and critically evaluate the institutes of contemporary private law.