Article by Philip K. Jones, Jr.
The legal relationship of suretyship is created by a surety's promise to a creditor to perform or satisfy an obligation owed to the creditor by a third party debtor if the debtor should fail to perform. Contemporary Western legal systems consider the surety's obligation to be accessory to the principal obligation. The purpose of the suretyship obligation is to secure the performance of the principal obligation, and, as has been noted often, this form of personal security was the most popular and preferred form in the commercial life of classical Rome. Only during the later period of Empire did real security become preferable and more commonly used. As the contract of suretyship emanated from the Roman concept of friendship, with its attendant duties, it was normally gratuituous in nature, and the rules governing suretyship reflected this fact.
About the Author
Philip K. Jones, Jr. Lecturer in Law, University of Singapore. A.B. 1971, Dartmouth College; J.D. 1974, Louisiana State University; LL.B. 1977, Cambridge University. Member of the Bar, Louisiana.
Citation
52 Tul. L. Rev. 129 (1977)