Venditio Bonorum Definition: Latin: sale of goods. Related Terms: Venditio Also spelled vendito bonorum. Roman law; the formal process of taking all property from a bankrupt or insolvent person and managing that estate to sell as son as possible and at the highest available price, with the proceed to satisfy as they can, the debts owed to the bankrupt’s creditors. Vendito bonorum marked a turn in the law from what had been a long-standing practice to seize the person of the bankrupt and keep them in their creditor's bondage and slavery for the duration of their lives or a reasonable time as compensation for the unpaid debt. The process of vendito bonorum is set out in the Twelve Tables of Roman law. The civil law continued the practice of vendito bonorum by taking all the property (estate) of the bankrupt in lieu of his person, and liquidating those assets to, at least in part, and proportionately, satisfies the unpaid creditor(s). REFERENCES: Duhaime, Lloyd, Bankruptcy Law Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Venditio Duhaime, Lloyd, The Twelve Tables Monier, R., Vocabulaire de Droit Romain, 4e ed. (Paris: Editions Domat, 1948), page 52 Roland, H. and Boyer, L., Locutions Latines du Droit Francais, 3e ed. (Paris: Libraire de la Cour de cassation, 1993), page 450-452 Categories & Topics: Dictionary of Latin Law Terms Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!