Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.25.pr-18.1.25.1

Alternative Sales and the Nature of Seller's Obligation

Passage 2613 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage explains the seller's right of choice in an alternative sale, and states that a seller is not strictly bound to transfer ownership, unlike a promisor in a verbal contract (stipulatio).

[IDEM libro trigesimo quarto ad Sabinum. ] §18.1.25.prSi ita distrahatur 'illa aut illa res', utram eliget uenditor, haec erit empta.

[THE SAME in the thirty-fourth book on Sabinus.] If a sale is made in this manner, 'this or that thing', whichever of the two the seller chooses, this shall be the thing bought.

§18.1.25.1Qui uendidit necesse non habet fundum emptoris facere, ut cogitur qui fundum stipulanti spopondit.

He who sold is not under a necessity to make the land the property of the buyer, as he is compelled who promised the land to a stipulator.

Notes

18.1.25.prutram eliget uenditor — The word `utram` is the feminine accusative singular of the pronominal adjective `uter` ('which of the two'), modifying an implied noun `res` and functioning as the direct object of the future indicative verb `eliget`. This entire clause acts like a conditional or concessive phrase.
18.1.25.1emptoris facere — The genitive noun `emptoris` is used predicatively with the infinitive `facere` to mean 'to make [the land] the buyer's [property]'. This reflects the fundamental principle of Roman law that a seller's obligation under a contract of sale is to deliver vacant possession and guarantee against eviction, rather than to transfer direct ownership (dominium), unlike a promisor under a stipulatio.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.25.pr-18.1.25.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.25.pr-18.1.25.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.