The vir bonus in Roman law

The vir bonus is often mentioned in the sources. However, the vir bonus is not only an ethical ideal, but also a hermeneutic criterion that allows us to interpret and integrate the legal acts. This is the technical meaning given to it by the jurisconsults, at least starting from the II century a.C.. The vir bonus should be replaced in the general context of Roman arbitration and distinguished from the arbiter ex compromisso. In particular, the vir bonus is used the field of obligation and inheritance rights. Therefore, it is used in bilateral as well as unilateral judiciary stores. At times, speaking of the vir bonus a third party is implied, called into question through the role and actions of a vir bonus; however, this third party often has an objective value. In this hypothesis, an honest man's judgment (arbitratus boni viri) has an abstract value. Even though there is a link between the concepts of vir bonus and bona fides, the hermeneutic criterion of the vir bonus is also used in the actions that are stricti iuris. The use of the arbitratus boni viri allows judgment to be more flexible without questioning the stricti iuris nature of the action.