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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §16.3.17.pr-16.3.17.1

Nature of Sequestration and Suspension of Possession

Passage 2422 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Florentinus discusses the distinction between ordinary deposit and deposit with a sequester, explaining that the latter requires multiple depositors who are each deemed to have deposited the entire object, and that during sequestration the possession time does not run for either disputing party.

[FLORENTINUS libro septimo institutionum. ] §16.3.17.prLicet deponere tam plures quam unus possunt, attamen apud sequestrem non nisi plures deponere possunt: nam tum id fit, cum aliqua res in controuersiam deducitur.
[FLORENTINUS, Institutes, book 7] Although several persons can make a deposit just as well as a single person, nevertheless, a deposit cannot be made with a sequester except by several persons; for this takes place when some thing is brought into dispute.
itaque hoc casu in solidum unusquisque uidetur deposuisse: quod aliter est, cum rem communem plures deponunt.
Therefore, in this case, each person is deemed to have deposited the thing in its entirety; which is otherwise when several persons deposit a common thing.
§16.3.17.1Rei depositae proprietas apud deponentem manet: sed et possessio, nisi apud sequestrem deposita est: nam tum demum sequester possidet: id enim agitur ea depositione, ut neutrius possessioni id tempus procedat.
The ownership of a deposited thing remains with the depositor, and so does the possession, unless it has been deposited with a sequester; for only then does the sequester possess it. For the purpose of that deposit is that the time in question should not run for the possession of either party.

Notes

  1. §16.3.17.prlicet — Here, licet functions as a concessive conjunction meaning "although", taking the following indicative possunt. While in classical Latin it usually takes the subjunctive, examples with the indicative are frequently found in post-classical and juristic Latin.
  2. §16.3.17.prin solidum — A legal adverbial phrase meaning "for the whole" or "in its entirety." Unlike an ordinary deposit of a common thing (where each depositor has rights only according to their share), in the case of a sequestered deposit, each disputing party is deemed to have deposited the whole object, granting the winner the right to claim the return of the entire thing.
  3. §16.3.17.1id enim agitur... ut — The phrase id agitur ut... is an idiomatic expression meaning "the object/purpose is that...". Here, id anticipates the ut clause (prolepsis), explaining the purpose of the sequestration (preventing the acquisition of possession by usucapion during litigation).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §16.3.17.pr-16.3.17.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:16.3.17.pr-16.3.17.1

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