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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.3.33.pr

Authority of Long-Standing Custom in Unwritten Matters

Passage 52 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian states the rule that long-standing custom is usually observed as equivalent to law in matters not derived from written law.

[ULPIANUS libro primo de officio proconsulis. ] §1.3.33.prDiuturna consuetudo pro iure et lege in his quae non ex scripto descendunt obseruari solet.
[ULPIANUS, On the Office of Proconsul, book 1] Long-standing custom is usually observed as right and law in those matters which do not derive from writing.

Notes

  1. 1.3.33.prpro iure et lege — The preposition `pro` takes the ablative and means "instead of" or "as equivalent to." It indicates that custom is treated as having authority equivalent to both `ius` (law in general) and `lex` (statute law).
  2. 1.3.33.prin his quae — The demonstrative `his` is neuter plural ablative, governed by the preposition `in` and serving as the antecedent to the relative pronoun `quae`. It limits the scope to "in those matters which."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.3.33.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.3.33.pr

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