Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §17.1.21.pr

Suretyship by Mandate of a Third Party or Both Parties

Passage 2461 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian explains that becoming a surety on another's mandate does not yield an action of mandate against the principal debtor, but a joint mandate from both parties allows actions against both.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragensimo septimo ad Sabinum. ] §17.1.21.prCum mandatu alieno pro te fideiusserim, non possum aduersus te habere actionem mandati, quemadmodum qui alienum mandatum intuitus spopondit.
[ULPIANUS in his forty-seventh book on Sabinus.] When I have become surety for you by another's mandate, I cannot have an action of mandate against you, just like one who, having regard to another's mandate, has made a promise.
sed si non utique unius, sed utriusque mandatum intuitus id fecerim, habebo mandati actionem etiam aduersus te, quemadmodum, si duo mihi mandassent ut tibi crederem, utrumque haberem obligatum.
But if I did this having regard not merely to the mandate of one, but of both, I shall have an action of mandate also against you, just as, if two had mandated me to extend credit to you, I would have both obligated.

Notes

  1. §17.1.21.prmandatu alieno pro te fideiusserim — Refers to the situation where one becomes a surety for 'you' (the debtor) on the mandate of a third party (alienus). In this case, because there is no direct contract of mandate between the surety and the debtor, the surety cannot bring an action of mandate against the debtor, but only against the third-party mandator.
  2. §17.1.21.printuitus — Perfect participle of the deponent verb intueor, active in meaning, signifying 'having regard to' or 'contemplating'.
  3. §17.1.21.prut tibi crederem — The verb credere in a legal context means 'to extend credit', 'to lend', or 'to trust'. Here, it forms a noun clause indicating the content of the mandate ('that I should extend credit to you') given by two mandators.
  4. §17.1.21.prutrumque haberem obligatum — The combination of habere with the perfect participle obligatum emphasizes the continuing state of holding 'both' (utrumque) under obligation, meaning 'I would hold both bound to me'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §17.1.21.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:17.1.21.pr

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