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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.5.11.pr-13.5.11.1

Validity of Constitutum and Limits of the Underlying Debt

Passage 2094 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the validity of an informal promise to pay (constitutum), establishing that as long as an underlying debt exists, the promise is valid within the limit of that debt, even if the inheritance is not yet accepted, the debtor is captured, or the promised amount exceeds the actual debt.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo septimo ad edictum. ] §13.5.11.prHactenus igitur constitutum ualebit, si quod constituitur debitum sit, etiamsi nullus apparet, qui interim debeat: ut puta si ante aditam hereditatem debitoris uel capto eo ab hostibus constituat quis se soluturum: nam et Pomponius scribit ualere constitutum, quoniam debita pecunia constituta est.
[ULPIANUS, from the twenty-seventh book on the Edict.] Therefore, a promise to pay will be valid to this extent, if what is promised is a debt, even if no one appears who in the meantime owes it: for example, if someone promises that he will pay before the inheritance of the debtor is accepted, or after the debtor has been captured by the enemy. For Pomponius also writes that the promise is valid, since money that was owed has been promised.
§13.5.11.1Si quis centum aureos debens ducentos constituat, in centum tantummodo tenetur, quia ea pecunia debita est: ergo et is, qui sortem et usuras quae non debebantur constituit, tenebitur in sortem dumtaxat.
If someone owing one hundred aurei promises two hundred, he is liable for one hundred only, because that money is owed: therefore, he also who promises the principal and interest which was not owed, will be liable for the principal only.

Notes

  1. §13.5.11.prante aditam hereditatem — The preposition 'ante' (before) governs an accusative noun phrase modified by a perfect participle (an 'ab urbe condita' type construction). It translates literally as 'before the accepted inheritance,' meaning 'before the inheritance is accepted.'
  2. §13.5.11.prcapto eo ab hostibus — An ablative absolute construction ('eo' referring back to 'debitoris' + the perfect participle 'capto'). It describes a situation in classical Roman law where a citizen captured by enemies has their legal status suspended, yet the debt remains, making a promise of payment during this period valid.
  3. §13.5.11.1in centum tantummodo tenetur — The preposition 'in' with the accusative 'centum' indicates the limit or extent of liability ('only to the extent of one hundred'). The phrase 'in sortem dumtaxat' (only to the extent of the principal) in the latter half of the sentence uses the same construction.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.5.11.pr-13.5.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.5.11.pr-13.5.11.1

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