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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.46.pr

Prohibition and Penalties for Officials Purchasing Property Under Administration

Passage 2634 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text prohibits public officials from purchasing property within their own administration, imposing forfeiture and a fourfold penalty for violations, while extending this rule to Caesar's procurators with certain exceptions.

[IDEM libro singulari de delatoribus. ] §18.1.46.prNon licet ex officio, quod administrat quis, emere quid uel per se uel per aliam personam: alioquin non tantum rem amittit, sed et in quadruplum conuenitur secundum constitutionem Seueri et Antonini: et hoc ad procuratorem quoque Caesaris pertinet.
[THE SAME, On Informers, single book] It is not permitted to buy anything, either by oneself or through another person, from the office which one administers; otherwise, one not only loses the thing, but is also sued for fourfold its value according to the constitution of Severus and Antoninus; and this also applies to the procurator of Caesar.
sed hoc ita se habet, nisi specialiter quibusdam hoc concessum est.
But this is so, unless this has been specially granted to certain persons.

Notes

  1. §18.1.46.prex officio, quod administrat quis — The relative pronoun quod is an accusative referring back to officium and serves as the direct object of administrat. The phrase ex officio literally means "from the office," referring here to the purchasing of property within the scope or jurisdiction of the office administered by the official.
  2. §18.1.46.prin quadruplum conuenitur — conuenitur is the third-person singular passive of conuenire (to sue, bring to court), with the offender (the implied subject of rem amittit) as its subject. in quadruplum is an adverbial phrase indicating that the legal action is brought for "fourfold" the value as a penalty.
  3. §18.1.46.prsed hoc ita se habet — se habere is a reflexive idiom meaning "to be in a certain state or condition." The phrase ita se habet means "this is so" or "this rule holds true," with the following nisi clause introducing an exception where a special privilege has been granted.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.46.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.46.pr

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