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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.4.2.pr

Evident Utility Required for Establishing New Laws

Passage 62 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is stated that in establishing new laws, there must be an evident utility to justify departing from the law that has long been deemed equitable.

[ULPIANUS fideicommissorum libro quarto. ] §1.4.2.prIn rebus nouis constituendis euidens esse utilitas debet, ut recedatur ab eo iure, quod diu aequum uisum est.
[ULPIANUS, On Fideicommissa, book 4] In establishing new measures, the utility ought to be evident, so that there may be a departure from that law which has long seemed equitable.

Notes

  1. §1.4.2.prconstituendis — A gerundive in the ablative plural feminine, agreeing in gender, number, and case with the noun phrase rebus nouis (also in the ablative) governed by the preposition in, forming a construction with a gerundial meaning: "in establishing new things/measures."
  2. §1.4.2.prrecedatur — The third-person singular present subjunctive passive of the intransitive verb recedere (to depart), used impersonally to mean "that a departure be made" or "that one depart." The ut-clause (ut recedatur) indicates the purpose or the potential result of the utility being evident.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.4.2.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.4.2.pr

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