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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.3.19.pr

Preference for Defect-Free Interpretation of Ambiguous Laws

Passage 38 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the interpretive principle that when a legal expression is ambiguous, the meaning free from defect should be preferred, especially as the intent of the law can be inferred from it.

[IDEM libro XXXIII digestorum. ] §1.3.19.prIn ambigua uoce legis ea potius accipienda est significatio, quae uitio caret, praesertim cum etiam uoluntas legis ex hoc colligi possit.
[THE SAME, Digest, Book 33] In an ambiguous expression of a law, that meaning is rather to be accepted which is free from defect, especially since the intent of the law can also be inferred from this.

Notes

  1. §1.3.19.pruitio — Ablative singular of the noun uitium ("defect", "fault"), acting as the complement of the verb caret ("to lack", "to be free from") to express separation.
  2. §1.3.19.prpraesertim cum — An idiomatic expression meaning "especially since" or "particularly because", introducing a subordinate clause with the subjunctive (here possit) to express cause or circumstance.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.3.19.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.3.19.pr

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