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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §11.7.9.pr

Actions and Damages for Hindering the Transport of a Body

Passage 1812 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius discusses the legal remedies and the calculation of damages for someone prevented from burying a body, and questions the established rule that this action is not transmissible to or against heirs.

[GAIUS libro nono decimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §11.7.9.prLiberum est ei qui prohibetur mortuum ossaue mortui inferre aut statim interdicto uti, quo prohibetur ei ius fieri, aut alio inferre et postea in factum agere: per quam consequetur actor, quanti eius interfuerit prohibitum non esse, in quam computationem cadit loci empti pretium aut conducti merces, item sui loci pretium, quem quis, nisi coactus est, religiosum facturus non esset.
[GAIUS in the nineteenth book on the Provincial Edict.] It is free for one who is prohibited from bringing in a dead body or the bones of a dead person either to use an interdict immediately, by which the application of force against him is prohibited, or to bring it elsewhere and afterwards bring an action on the facts. Through this action, the plaintiff will obtain the amount of his interest in not having been prohibited, into which calculation falls the price of a place purchased or the rent of one hired, and likewise the price of his own place which, unless he had been compelled, he would not have made religious.
unde miror, quare constare uideatur neque heredi neque in heredem dandam hanc actionem: nam ut apparet, pecuniariae quantitatis ratio in eam deducitur: certe perpetuo ea inter ipsos competit.
Hence I wonder why it seems to be established that this action is to be given neither to an heir nor against an heir; for, as is apparent, the calculation of a pecuniary sum is brought into it. At all events, it is available perpetually between the parties themselves.

Notes

  1. §11.7.9.prius fieri — Although the manuscript reads `ius fieri` ('right being done'), it is generally understood as a scribal error for `uis fieri` ('force being applied') based on the context of interdicts prohibiting violence. The translation follows this standard emendation.
  2. §11.7.9.prquanti eius interfuerit — A construction of the impersonal verb `interest`. The party who has the interest is expressed in the genitive (`eius`), and the extent of the interest (the value or amount of damages) is expressed in the genitive of value (`quanti`).
  3. §11.7.9.prneque heredi neque in heredem dandam — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) construction governed by the impersonal phrase `constare uideatur`. The gerundive `dandam` (with `esse` omitted) agrees predicatively with the accusative subject `hanc actionem`. The dative `heredi` refers to active transmission (the action being given to the heir), while the prepositional phrase `in heredem` refers to passive transmission (against the heir).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §11.7.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:11.7.9.pr

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