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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §14.6.17.pr

Loan for a Sister's Dowry and the Father's Liability

Passage 2256 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section rules that if a son of the family borrows money to provide a dowry for his sister, the father is liable under the action on property turned to account, because the right to recover the dowry in the event of the daughter's death during marriage belongs to the father.

[IDEM libro secundo sententiarum. ] §14.6.17.prFilius familias si in id acceperit mutuam pecuniam, ut eam pro sorore sua in dotem daret, pater eius de in rem uerso actione tenebitur: ipsi enim mortua in matrimonio puella repetitio dotis datur.
[THE SAME, Sentences, Book 2] If a son of the family has accepted a loan of money for the purpose of giving it as a dowry for his sister, his father will be held liable under the action on property turned to account; for if the girl dies during the marriage, the right to demand the return of the dowry is given to the father himself.

Notes

  1. §14.6.17.prin id ... ut eam pro sorore sua in dote daret — The prepositional phrase with the demonstrative pronoun 'in id' (for this purpose) is explained appositively by the subsequent 'ut' clause specifying the objective, meaning 'for the purpose of giving it as a dowry for his sister'.
  2. §14.6.17.pripsi — A dative pronoun referring in context to the father ('pater eius'). Because the right to demand the return of the dowry ('repetitio dotis') accrues to the father himself, the borrowed money is deemed to have been turned to the father's financial benefit ('in rem versum'), which justifies holding the father liable under the 'actio de in rem verso'.
  3. §14.6.17.prmortua in matrimonio puella — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun 'puella' (the girl, here the sister of the son) and the participle 'mortua', expressing a condition or time: 'if/when the girl dies during the marriage'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §14.6.17.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:14.6.17.pr

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