The Beginning and End of the Physical Personality in Dmitriy I. Meyer Works

The article is devoted to the 200th anniversary of Dmitriy I. Meyer — the founder of the domestic science of civilistics and the author of the first textbook on civil law. The article deals with the peculiarities of Dmitriy I. Meyer personality and life path, in particular with his passion for Roman private law, which is reflected in his scientific and teaching activities. The paper justifies that it was he who fulfilled the historical mission of “transferring” the provisions developed by Roman jurists to the nascent domestic civilization. Also, the paper analyzes the methodical techniques used by Dmitriy Meyer in his teaching practice, the theoretical provisions relating to the determination of the moment of the emergence of civil legal capacity of individuals in connection with which the author rejects the appropriateness of associating this moment with the moment of conception, considers the legal status of newborns in accordance with the degree of their vitality and issues related to the enforcement of the right to life of preterm children in modern conditions in the context of their ability to survive in different States, characterizes the problems arising in the case of simultaneous death of two or more persons legally connected with each other and describes approaches to their resolution, analyzes Dmitriy Meyer’s views concerning the so-called civil (political) death, elucidates Dmitriy Meyer’s conclusions and proposals reflected in the current legislation of the Russian Federation including the child birth and death registration during the first week of life, as well as the alleged novels of inheritance law.