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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.6.21.pr

Creditor's Choice of Restitution in Simultaneous Alternative Payments

Passage 1996 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that when two debtors make both alternative performances simultaneously under an alternative obligation, they cannot reclaim shares of each as in monetary debts; instead, the creditor has the choice of which debtor to restore the excess to.

[PAULUS libro tertio quaestionum. ] §12.6.21.prPlane si duos reos non eiusdem pecuniae, sed alterius obligationis constitueris, ut puta Stichi aut Pamphili, et pariter duos datos, aut togam uel denaria mille, non idem dici poterit in repetitione ut partes repetant, quia nec soluere ab initio sic potuerunt.
[PAULUS, Questions, Book 3.] Clearly, if you establish two debtors, not for the same sum of money, but under an alternative obligation, as for example, for Stichus or Pamphilus, and both [slaves] are given at the same time, or [for an alternative obligation of] a toga or a thousand denarii [and both are given], the same cannot be said in respect of recovery, namely, that they should recover parts, because they could not have paid in this way from the beginning.
igitur hoc casu electio est creditoris, cui uelit soluere, ut alterius repetitio impediatur.
Therefore, in this case, the choice is the creditor's, to whom he wishes to restore, so that the recovery of the other is barred.

Notes

  1. §12.6.21.prduos datos — Refers to the situation where both slaves are delivered simultaneously (pariter datos [esse]) by the two debtors under an alternative obligation (either Stichus or Pamphilus).
  2. §12.6.21.prut partes repetant — A noun clause explaining the content of non idem dici poterit. It indicates that unlike monetary debts, "reclaiming a divided share" is impossible in the case of alternative performance of specific objects.
  3. §12.6.21.prcui uelit soluere — An indirect question clause explaining the content of electio (choice). Here, soluere does not mean performing the original debt, but rather "to which of the debtors to restore" the excess (one of the two items) received as an undue payment.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.6.21.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.6.21.pr

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