The Theory of Abuse of Right in Interwar Romanian Legal Doctrine: The Contributions of Mircea Djuvara and Matei Cantacuzino

This study analyzes, through a historical-comparative method, the contributions of two prominent jurists of the Romanian interwar period – Mircea Djuvara and Matei Cantacuzino – to the development of the theory of abuse of right in national legal doctrine. Starting from the European context of the formation of this theory and from the silence of the Civil Code of 1864 on the matter, the article examines the conceptions of both authors through an analysis of their fundamental works and their reception in interwar jurisprudence, highlighting both the convergences and the specificity of each approach. While Djuvara grounds the theory of the relativity of rights on philosophical-legal principles of Kantian inspiration, proposing an objective conception based on the social finality of rights, Cantacuzino adopts a technical-legal perspective, centered on the subjective criterion of intent to harm and the interferences with civil delictual liability. The study demonstrates the contemporary relevance and actuality of the interwar contributions by reference to the regulation of abuse of right in Article 15 of the new Civil Code, while simultaneously offering a comparative analysis with developments in European legal systems (French, German, Swiss) and the jurisprudential applications of this theory in Romanian judicial practice.