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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.6.55.pr

Recovery of Profits Received by an Unlawful Possessor

Passage 2031 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses case-by-case whether and from whom a condictio can be brought, and to whom a plunderer is liable, regarding profits obtained from leasing another's property or slaves.

[IDEM libro sexto quaestionum. ] §12.6.55.prSi urbana praedia locauerit praedo, quod mercedis nomine ceperit, ab eo qui soluit non repetetur, sed domino erit obligatus.
[THE SAME, in the sixth book of Questions.] If a plunderer has leased urban estates, what he has received under the name of rent shall not be recovered from him by the person who paid it, but he shall be liable to the owner.
idemque iuris erit in uecturis nauium, quas ipse locauerit aut exercuerit, item mercedibus seruorum, quorum operae per ipsum fuerint locatae.
And the same rule of law will apply to the freight of ships which he himself has leased or operated, as well as to the wages of slaves whose services were leased by him.
nam si seruus non locatus mercedem ut domino praedoni rettulit, non fiet accipientis pecunia.
For if a slave who was not leased has brought wages to the plunderer as if to his owner, the money does not become the property of the recipient.
quod si uecturas nauium, quas dominus locauerat, item pensiones insularum acceperit, ob indebitum ei tenebitur, qui non est liberatus soluendo.
But if he has received the freight of ships which the owner had leased, or likewise the rents of apartment buildings, he will be liable for an undue payment to the person who was not released by paying.
quod ergo dici solet praedoni fructus posse condici, tunc locum habet, cum domini fructus fuerunt.
Therefore, the common saying that fruits can be recovered from a plunderer by a condictio holds good only when the fruits belonged to the owner.

Notes

  1. 12.6.55.praccipientis — The genitive accipientis is used predicatively with fiet to denote possession ('the money does not become the property of the recipient').
  2. 12.6.55.prsoluendo — The dative of the gerund of soluere, used with liberari to indicate the purpose or means of release ('released by paying' or 'released for payment').
  3. 12.6.55.prcondici — The passive infinitive of condicere. In Roman law, condicere means to bring a condictio (an action for unjust enrichment) against someone who has obtained a benefit without legal cause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.6.55.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.6.55.pr

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