古罗马共和时期的阶级斗争与反高利贷立法

Class Struggle in the Roman Republic and the Legislation of and Anti-usury

在古罗马共和时期,反高利贷是贵族与平民之间斗争的重要组成部分。平民的诉求首先表现为解放因未清偿债务而沦为债务奴隶的债务人,后来平民对违反利率限制的高利贷者享有拘禁之诉的诉权,而后者要承担四倍罚金的惩罚。斗争的双方认为,求助于法律是平衡彼此利益的唯一理想途径。《十二表法》规定了利率不得超过1/12,公元前357年颁布的《杜伊流斯和梅奈纽斯平民会决议》重申了《十二表法》的规定,公元前347年的平民会决议把允许的最高利率降低了一半,后来的《格努求斯平民会决议》完全禁止利息,这些法律大部分是平民自己的立法机构制定的公法。

In the Roman Republic, anti-usury is an important part of conflicts between patricians and plebeians. In the beginning, the claim of plebeians is to liberate the debtors who fall into bond slavery because of default. Afterwards, plebe- ians enjoy legis actio per manus iniectionem against usurers who violate restrictions on interest rate. The latter have to bear the punishment of quadruple fines. Recourse to the law is considered to be the only satisfactory way to balance interests of parties involved. The Law of the Twelve Tables stipulates that the interest rate should not exceed 1/12. In 357 B. C. , The Plebiscite of Duilio Menenio reaffirms the stipulations of The Law of the Twelve Tables. The plebiscite of 347 B.C. halves the permitted highest rate. Later, The Plebiscite of Genucio completely banned interest. These laws are mostly public laws enacted by plebeian legislature.