43 Ten books

To a large extent the allocation of the subject matter to the different Books was also uncontroversial. It was readily agreed that Book I should be a short and general guide for the reader on how to use the whole text — dealing, for example, with its intended scope of application, how it should be interpreted and developed and where to find definitions of key terms. The later Books, from Book IV on, also gave rise to little difficulty so far as structure was concerned. There was discussion about the best order, but eventually it was settled that this would be: Specific contracts and rights and obligations arising from them (Book IV); Benevolent intervention in another's affairs (Book V); Non-contractual liability arising out of damage caused to another (Book VI); Unjustified enrichment (Book VII); Acquisition and loss of ownership of goods (Book VIII); Proprietary security rights in movable assets (Book IX) and Trust (Book X). An important argument for putting the rules on specific contracts and their obligational effects in a Book of their own (subdivided into Parts) rather than in separate Books is that it would be easier in the future to add new Parts dealing with other specific contracts without affecting the numbering of later Books and their contents.