Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.67.pr

Transfer of Legal Condition Along with Ownership

Passage 2655 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius states the general principle of civil law that the transfer of ownership carries with it the same legal condition (causa) that the property would have had if it had remained with the transferor, unless a specific agreement provides otherwise.

[IDEM libro trigensimo nono ad Quintum Mucium. ] §18.1.67.prAlienatio cum fit, cum sua causa dominium ad alium transferimus, quae esset futura, si apud nos ea res mansisset, idque toto iure ciuili ita se habet, praeterquam si aliquid nominatim sit constitutum.
[THE SAME, Commentary on Quintus Mucius, Book XXXIX] When an alienation takes place, we transfer ownership to another with its legal condition, such as it would have been if the property had remained with us; and this is so throughout the whole civil law, except if something has been specifically established.

Notes

  1. §18.1.67.prquae esset futura, si apud nos ea res mansisset — The relative pronoun 'quae' (nominative feminine singular) refers back to 'causa' (ablative feminine singular) in the preceding phrase 'cum sua causa'. Here, 'causa' denotes the 'legal condition or state' (including attachments, servitudes, or fruits) of the property. The combination of 'si... mansisset' (subjunctive pluperfect) and 'esset futura' (subjunctive imperfect with future participle) forms a counterfactual condition, explaining that the property is transferred with the future legal condition it would have had if it had remained in the transferor's possession.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.67.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.67.pr

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