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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.5.23.pr

Liability for Value After Default and Death of Property

Passage 2106 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text provides that if a promisor fails to deliver a slave due to their own fault and the slave subsequently dies, the promisor remains liable under the action on promised money to pay the value of the slave.

[IULIANUS libro undecimo digestorum. ] §13.5.23.prPromissor hominis homine mortuo, cum per eum staret quo minus traderetur, etsi hominem daturum se constituerit, de constituta pecunia tenebitur, ut pretium eius soluat.
[JULIANUS, from the eleventh book of the Digests.] The promisor of a slave, after the slave has died, if it was due to him that delivery was not made, even if he had promised that he would deliver the slave, will be liable under the action on promised money, so as to pay the price of the slave.

Notes

  1. §13.5.23.prcum per eum staret quo minus traderetur — An idiomatic expression consisting of the impersonal `per aliquem stat` followed by a `quo minus` clause, meaning 'it is someone's fault that...' or 'it is due to someone that... not...'. Here it denotes that the non-delivery of the slave was attributable to the promisor's default or fault.
  2. §13.5.23.prde constituta pecunia tenebitur — The ablative phrase dependent on the verb `tenebitur` (will be held liable), referring to the 'action on promised money' (actio de constituta pecunia). Since the slave (homo), who was the original object of performance, has died, the payment of his price (pretium) is specified by the `ut` clause as the substance of the liability.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.5.23.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.5.23.pr

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