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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.4.2.pr

Recovery on Failure of Purpose upon Invalidation of a Will

Passage 1952 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

States that if a will is declared forged or undutiful without any wrongdoing by the giver, the ten given can be recovered as if the purpose failed.

[HERMOGENIANUS libro secundo iuris epitomarum. ] §12.4.2.prSed et si falsum testamentum sine scelere eius qui dedit uel inofficiosum pronuntietur, ueluti causa non secuta decem repetentur.
[HERMOGENIANUS, Second Book of Epitomes of Law.] But also, if, without any wrongdoing on the part of the giver, a will is declared forged or undutiful, the ten will be recovered, as if the purpose had not been realized.

Notes

  1. §12.4.2.prsine scelere eius qui dedit — Requires that the giver (dator) has no malice or unlawful involvement (scelus) in the forgery or the undutiful nature of the will. It provides relief for a giver who performed in good faith, believing the will to be valid, which subsequently turned out to be void.
  2. §12.4.2.prueluti causa non secuta — A combination of veluti ('as if') and the ablative absolute causa non secuta ('the purpose not having been realized'). It indicates that because the will was declared void or undutiful, the underlying basis (causa) of the performance was retroactively lost, and thus the doctrine of condictio ob rem dati re non secuta is applied.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.4.2.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.4.2.pr

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