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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §11.7.8.pr-11.7.8.5

Authority for Relocating Bodies and Remedies for Burial

Passage 1811 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Defines the authority of pontiffs and the emperor regarding the removal of bones or bodies brought onto another's land, the legal actions for selling sacred land as secular, sanctions for illegal burial on public land, and remedies for the obstruction of burial rights.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo quinto ad edictum. ] §11.7.8.prOssa quae ab alio illata sunt uel corpus an liceat domino loci effodere uel eruere sine decreto pontificum seu iussu principis, quaestionis est: et ait Labeo exspectandum uel permissum pontificale seu iussionem principis, alioquin iniuriarum fore actionem aduersus eum qui eiecit. §11.7.8.1Si locus religiosus pro puro uenisse dicetur, praetor in factum actionem in eum dat ei ad quem ea res pertinet: quae actio et in heredem competit, cum quasi ex empto actionem contineat. §11.7.8.2Si in locum publicis usibus destinatum intulerit quis mortuum, praetor in eum iudicium dat, si dolo fecerit et erit extra ordinem plectendus, modica tamen coercitione: sed si sine dolo, absoluendus est. §11.7.8.3In hac autem actione loci puri appellatio et ad aedificium producenda est. §11.7.8.4Nec solum domino haec actio competit, uerum ei quoque, qui eiusdem loci habet usum fructum uel aliquam seruitutem, quia ius prohibendi etiam hi habent. §11.7.8.5Ei, qui prohibitus est inferre in eum locum, quo ei ius inferendi esset, in factum actio competit et interdictum, etiamsi non ipse prohibitus sit, sed procurator eius, quia intellectu aliquo ipse prohibitus uidetur.
[ULPIANUS in the twenty-fifth book on the Edict.] it is lawful for the owner of a place, without a decree of the pontiffs or an order of the emperor, to dig up or eject bones or a body which have been brought in by another, is a matter of question; and Labeo says that the permission of the pontiffs or the order of the emperor must be awaited, otherwise there will be an action for injury against the one who ejected them. a sacred place is said to have been sold as pure, the praetor grants an action on the facts against him to the person whom the matter concerns; this action is also available against an heir, since it contains an action analogous to that on purchase. anyone brings a dead person into a place destined for public use, the praetor grants a trial against him; if he did so with malice, he is to be punished extraordinarily, yet with moderate coercion; but if without malice, he must be acquitted. this action, moreover, the term "pure place" must also be extended to a building. is this action available to the owner alone, but also to him who has the usufruct or any servitude of the same place, because these also have the right of prohibition. one who has been prohibited from bringing a body into a place where he had the right of bringing it, an action on the facts and an interdict are available, even if he himself was not prohibited, but his agent, because by a certain interpretation he himself is deemed to have been prohibited.

Notes

  1. §11.7.8.prexspectandum — An impersonal use of the gerundive `exspectandum` with `esse` omitted, meaning "it must be waited for." The following accusatives `permissum` and `iussionem` function as the direct objects of this impersonal verbal form.
  2. §11.7.8.1quasi ex empto actionem — An accusative expression referring to `actio quasi ex empto` (an action analogous to that on purchase). It is the direct object in the subordinate clause introduced by the causal conjunction `cum` (governing the subjunctive `contineat`).
  3. §11.7.8.5quo — A relative adverb of direction ("whither" or "into which"), modifying the antecedent `eum locum`. The verb `esset` in the relative clause is in the subjunctive to denote a relative clause of characteristic.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §11.7.8.pr-11.7.8.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:11.7.8.pr-11.7.8.5

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