Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.2.31.pr

Discovery of New Evidence and Retrial After Oath

Passage 1928 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius explains that even after an oath is taken, imperial constitutions may allow a case to be retried if new documents are found, but this applies only to judicial acquittals and not to out-of-court settlements made by oath between the parties.

[GAIUS libro trigensimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §12.2.31.prAdmonendi sumus interdum etiam post iusiurandum exactum permitti constitutionibus principum ex integro causam agere, si quis noua instrumenta se inuenisse dicat, quibus nunc solis usurus sit.
[GAIUS, Book XXX on the Provincial Edict.] We must be reminded that sometimes, even after an oath has been exacted, it is permitted by imperial constitutions to try the case anew, if anyone should say that he has found new documents, which alone he will now use.
sed hae constitutiones tunc uidentur locum habere, cum a iudice aliquis absolutus fuerit (solent enim saepe iudices in dubiis causis exacto iureiurando secundum eum iudicare qui iurauerit): quod si alias inter ipsos iureiurando transactum sit negotium, non conceditur eandem causam retractare.
But these constitutions seem to apply only when someone has been acquitted by a judge (for in doubtful cases judges are often accustomed, after an oath has been exacted, to judge in favor of the person who has sworn); but if, on the other hand, the transaction was settled between the parties themselves by an oath, it is not permitted to reopen the same case.

Notes

  1. §12.2.31.prpost iusiurandum exactum — The perfect participle `exactum` modifies the noun `iusiurandum` in a dominant sense ("after the exaction of the oath"), a construction analogous to *ab urbe condita*.
  2. §12.2.31.prquibus nunc solis usurus sit — The relative pronoun `quibus` is in the ablative case, governed by the verb `uti` (here as the active future participle `usurus`). `usurus sit` is a periphrastic conjugation (active future participle + subjunctive present of `esse`) expressing intention ("intends to use") within a subordinate clause of indirect speech introduced by `dicat`.
  3. §12.2.31.prquod si — A combination of the transitional relative `quod` at the beginning of the sentence and the conditional conjunction `si`, introducing an adversative or transitional conditional clause ("but if", "on the other hand, if").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.2.31.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.2.31.pr

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.