This latter condition was realised in commenda. Although the contract of partnership was fully recognised by the scholastics, it was not very scientifically treated, nor were the different species of the contract systematically classified.
The commenda was originally a contract by which merchants who wished to engage in foreign trade, but who did not wish to travel themselves, entrusted their wares to agents or representatives. The merchant was known as the commendator or socius stans, and the agent as the commendatarius or tractator.
According to Baldus, 'when there is no sharing of risk there is no partnership'; and Paul de Castro says, 'A partnership when the gain is shared, but not the loss, is not to be permitted. 'The legitimacy, says Brants, 'of the contract of commenda always rested upon the same principle; capital could not be productive except for him who worked it himself, or who caused it to be worked on his own responsibility.