Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §17.2.72.pr

Standard of Fault and Diligence in Partnership Affairs

Passage 2576 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius discusses the standard of liability for fault that a partner owes to another, stating that it is sufficient to show the same degree of diligence toward common property as one does toward one's own affairs.

[GAIUS libro secundo cottidianarum rerum. ] §17.2.72.prSocius socio etiam culpae nomine tenetur, id est desidiae atque neglegentiae.
[GAIUS, in the second book of Everyday Matters.] A partner is liable to his partner also on the ground of fault, that is, of slackness and negligence.
culpa autem non ad exactissimam diligentiam dirigenda est: sufficit etenim talem diligentiam communibus rebus adhibere, qualem suis rebus adhibere solet, quia qui parum diligentem sibi socium adquirit, de se queri debet.
However, fault is not to be measured by the standard of the most exact diligence; for it is sufficient to apply such diligence to the common property as one is accustomed to apply to one's own affairs, because he who acquires a partner of insufficient diligence for himself has only himself to complain of.

Notes

  1. 17.2.72.prdirigenda est — The passive periphrastic conjugation (gerundive `dirigenda` + `est`) expressing obligation or necessity. Combined with the prepositional phrase `ad exactissimam diligentiam`, it means 'should not be measured or evaluated by the standard of the most exact diligence.'
  2. 17.2.72.prparum diligentem — The adverb `parum` (insufficiently) modifies the participle used as an adjective `diligentem`, which in turn modifies `socium` (partner). It highlights the Roman legal principle of *diligentia quam in suis* (the diligence one shows in one's own affairs), suggesting that choosing an insufficiently diligent partner is one's own responsibility (*de se queri debet*).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §17.2.72.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:17.2.72.pr

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