Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Debts - World

81. If a father cannot pay his debts, his daughter will become a slave of the state. She will then be put up for sale at a public auction. The proceeds of her sale will be used to equitably satisfy her father's creditors.
82. A free woman who cannot pay her own debts will be enslaved. Under the redemption laws, a person can pay the woman's debts and thus claim ownership of her. That owner could free the woman if he so desired, or keep her as a slave. If no one redeems a female debtor within a certain time period, not specified in the books, she will then be sold to Slavers.
87. A free woman may do a form of limited self-contracting where she legally becomes a slave for a specific time period, commonly ranging from one night to one year. She cannot end this contract earlier than the specified time period. Once the contract takes effect, she becomes a slave with no legal powers at all. This curious contractual arrangement is not described in great detail. It raises numerous legal dilemmas that can only be speculated about. The books do not state that the contract covers any contingencies or limits the slavery in any way. The woman becomes an actual slave. That would seem to mean she could be freely killed. What would happen is she was sold? Does the contract prevent that? Would the time period still apply if she was sold? What would happen if she was stolen? This passage seems to raise far more questions than it answers.

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