Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.2.30.pr-12.2.30.5

Effects of Oaths in Double Value Actions and Specific Cases

Passage 1927 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses various specific cases concerning the effects of oaths, explaining the legal principles regarding actions for single and double amounts, non-existent slaves, dowries, popular actions, the status of freedmen, and usufructs.

[PAULUS libro octauo decimo ad edictum. ] §12.2.30.prEum, qui iurauit ex ea actione quae infitiando crescit aliquid sibi deberi, simpli, non dupli persecutionem sibi adquirere Pedius ait: abunde enim sufficere exonerare petitorem probandi necessitate, cum omissa hac parte edicti dupli actio integra maneat: et potest dici hoc iudicio non principalem causam exerceri, sed iusiurandum actoris conseruari.
[PAULUS, Book XVIII on the Edict.] Pedius says that a person who has sworn that something is owed to him under an action which increases by denial acquires for himself the pursuit of the single amount, not the double; for it is more than sufficient to exonerate the claimant from the necessity of proof, since, even if this part of the Edict is omitted, the action for double remains unimpaired; and it can be said that in this trial it is not the principal cause that is being prosecuted, but the oath of the plaintiff that is being preserved.
§12.2.30.1Si iurauero te Stichum mihi dare oportere, qui non sit in rerum natura, nec aestimationem mihi praestare reus debet nisi ex causa furtiua uel propter moras: tunc enim etiam post mortem serui aestimatio praestatur.
If I have sworn that you ought to give me Stichus, and he is not in existence, the defendant is not even obliged to pay me his estimated value, except in the case of theft or on account of default; for in those cases the valuation is paid even after the death of the slave.
§12.2.30.2Si mulier iurauerit decem dotis sibi deberi, tota ea summa praestanda est: sed si iurauit decem se dedisse in dotem, hoc solum non erit quaerendum, an data sint, sed quasi data sint, quod ex eo reddi oportet praestandum erit.
If a woman has sworn that ten is owed to her as dowry, the whole sum must be paid; but if she has sworn that she gave ten as dowry, not only will this question not be asked, namely whether it was given, but, just as if it had been given, whatever ought to be returned from it must be paid.
§12.2.30.3In popularibus actionibus iusiurandum exactum ita demum aduersus alios proderit, si bona fide exactum fuerit: nam et si quis egerit, ita demum consumit publicam actionem, si non per collusionem actum sit.
In popular actions, an oath exacted will only be of benefit against others if it was exacted in good faith; for even if someone brings an action, he only consumes the public action if the proceedings were not conducted through collusion.
§12.2.30.4Si libertus deferente patrono iurauit se libertum non esse, ratum habendum est iusiurandum, ut nec operarum petitio nec bonorum possessio contra tabulas dari debeat.
If a freedman, upon the oath being offered by his patron, has sworn that he is not a freedman, the oath must be held valid, so that neither a petition for services nor the possession of property contrary to the will ought to be granted.
§12.2.30.5Si iurauero usum fructum mihi dari oportere, non aliter dari debet, quam si caueam boni uiri arbitratu me usurum et finito usu fructu restituturum.
If I have sworn that a usufruct ought to be given to me, it ought not to be given otherwise than if I provide security that I will use it according to the judgment of an honorable man, and will restore it when the usufruct is ended.

Notes

  1. 12.2.30.prcum omissa hac parte edicti dupli actio integra maneat — The word cum is a causal conjunction. Within this clause, omissa hac parte edicti is an ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun pars (part) and the perfect participle omissa. It carries a conditional or concessive force, meaning "even if this part of the Edict is omitted or bypassed," explaining the reason why dupli actio integra maneat (the action for double remains unimpaired).
  2. 12.2.30.2quasi data sint — The subjunctive clause introduced by quasi expresses a hypothetical condition contrary to fact ("as if they had been given"). Here, it sets up the fiction that the dowry was indeed handed over, based on which its return (reddi oportet) can be claimed.
  3. 12.2.30.5caueam — This is not the noun cautio (security), but the first-person singular present subjunctive active of the verb cauere (to give security, guarantee). It is governed by the conditional si ("if I provide security..."). The following future infinitives me usurum [esse] and restituturum [esse] form an accusative with infinitive construction expressing the content of the security.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.2.30.pr-12.2.30.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.2.30.pr-12.2.30.5

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.