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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §17.1.7.pr

Agent Salary Claims and Purchase of Lawsuit Outcomes

Passage 2446 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinian's opinion that when an agent's salary is claimed in an extraordinary procedure, a distinction must be made between a legitimate reward for labor and an immoral purchase of the outcome of a lawsuit.

[PAPINIANUS libro tertio responsorum. ] §17.1.7.prSalarium procuratori constitutum si extra ordinem peti coeperit, considerandum erit, laborem dominus remunerare uoluerit atque ideo fidem adhiberi placitis oporteat an euentum litium maioris pecuniae praemio contra bonos mores procurator redemerit.
[PAPINIANUS in the third book of Opinions.] If a salary established for an agent begins to be claimed outside the ordinary procedure, it must be considered whether the principal wished to reward his labor, and therefore faith ought to be kept with what was agreed, or whether the agent, contrary to good morals, purchased the outcome of the lawsuits with the reward of a larger sum of money.

Notes

  1. §17.1.7.prextra ordinem — Refers to the "extraordinary procedure" (cognitio extra ordinem), which was outside the ordinary formulary system (ordo iudiciorum privatorum). Under classical Roman law, a mandate was gratuitous in principle; hence, a claim for an agreed salary (salarium) had to be pursued through this extraordinary procedure rather than the standard action of mandate (actio mandati).
  2. §17.1.7.prconsiderandum erit, laborem dominus remunerare uoluerit atque ideo fidem adhiberi placitis oporteat an euentum litium — An indirect question clause introduced by considerandum erit ("it must be considered"), exhibiting a disjunctive indirect question structure (utrum ... an ...) where the initial utrum is omitted. The subjunctive perfect uoluerit and present oporteat in the first part are contrasted with the subjunctive perfect redemerit after an.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §17.1.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:17.1.7.pr

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