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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.18.20.pr

Retention of Imperium by Governors Upon Resignation

Passage 222 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinian notes that an imperial legate, such as a provincial governor or corrector, does not immediately lose his imperium simply by resigning his office.

[PAPINIANUS libro primo responsorum. ] §1.18.20.prLegatus Caesaris, id est praeses uel corrector prouinciae, abdicando se non amittit imperium.
[PAPINIANUS, in the first book of Opinions.] An imperial legate, that is, a governor or corrector of a province, does not lose his imperium by resigning his office.

Notes

  1. §1.18.20.prabdicando se — The gerund abdicando in the ablative case is accompanied by the accusative reflexive pronoun se. The phrase abdicare se (magistratu) is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to remove oneself (from office), to resign'. Here, the ablative gerund expresses means or circumstance: 'by resigning (himself)'.
  2. §1.18.20.primperium — The term 'imperium' refers to the supreme power of command, both military and judicial, held by high Roman magistrates and imperial legates. This passage clarifies that the mere act of declaring or initiating resignation does not instantly terminate this official authority.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.18.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.18.20.pr

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