La "ratio iuris" del llamado "beneficium competentiae" en el ámbito dotal

This study aims at bringing up some aspects of the Roman legal praxis regarding the so-called beneficium competentiae within the scope of the dowry law. Particularly, it presents the connotations of the benefit of the sentence limited to the id quod facere potest in favor of the (two) defendants in a dowry trial: the maritus claimed by means of the actio rei uxoria to reimburse the res dotalis after the dissolution of the marriage and those individuals (socer, mulier, extraneus) who promised a dowry and did not comply with their promise. Thus, the ratio iuris of granting the benefit of the limited sentence over time and the assumptions it is based on is highlighted.