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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.7.15.pr

Creditor Guarantees against Fraud and Loss of Servitudes

Passage 2153 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Upon returning a pledge, the creditor must formally promise that there was no fraud, and if the pledge was land, they must also guarantee its rights, lest any servitudes were lost due to their failure to use them.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo octauo ad edictum. ] §13.7.15.prCreditor cum pignus reddit, de dolo debet debitori repromittere: et si praedium fuit pigneratum, et de iure eius repromittendum est, ne forte seruitutes cessante uti creditore amissae sint.
[ULPIANUS, on the Edict, Book XXVIII] When the creditor returns the pledge, he must make a formal promise to the debtor in respect of fraud; and if a tract of land has been pledged, a promise must also be made concerning its rights, lest by chance servitudes should have been lost because the creditor ceased to use them.

Notes

  1. §13.7.15.prrepromittere — It means to give a formal legal guarantee, typically by means of a verbal contract (stipulatio), rather than a mere informal agreement (pactum).
  2. §13.7.15.prcessante uti creditore — An ablative absolute construction `cessante creditore` ('the creditor ceasing'), on which the present infinitive `uti` of the deponent verb `utor` ('to use') depends. Since in Roman law servitudes could be lost through non-use (non usus) over a certain period, this imposes liability on the creditor if they failed to exercise the easement while holding the land as a pledge.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.7.15.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.7.15.pr

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