EN
The phenomenon that is known as decodification, and the related Europeanization of particular national legal systems, has triggered mechanisms for discussing the process of creating the law which resemble the way in which Roman jurisprudence and ius commune lawyers functioned. Framing the legal order within a deductive system has not been entirely successful. Roman law is the legacy of legal thought, and it allows us to illustrate how law reflects values and what those values might be. Looking at the history of law from this perspective seems important in the context of the decodification process, and we can prove this by using of two examples. One of these is the principle of family solidarity which restrains the freedom of testation. The second is the rationale for distinguishing incorporeal from corporeal things, when deciding on the possible objects of property rights. The article takes into consideration the fact that including the Roman and civil law tradition in the discussion about new order of private law in Europe provides more flexibility for legal regulations. The authors still believe that private law is a system of norms with its own internal logic and is based on fairness and justice. Legal practice proves that this way of thinking is not an anachronism. References to the tradition of Roman law clearly show that the controversy concerning the new order revolves around the sense and the extent to which private law can be treated instrumentally.