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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.4.7.pr

Existence of Inheritance as Condition for Sale and Price Recovery

Passage 2705 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that in the sale of an inheritance, the inheritance must actually exist for the contract to be valid; if it does not exist, no sale is contracted and the paid price can be recovered by condictio.

[IDEM libro quarto decimo ad Plautium. ] §18.4.7.prCum hereditatem aliquis uendidit, esse debet hereditas, ut sit emptio: nec enim alea emitur, ut in uenatione et similibus, sed res: quae si non est, non contrahitur emptio et ideo pretium condicetur.
[THE SAME, On Plautius, book 14.] When someone has sold an inheritance, the inheritance must exist in order for there to be a sale; for it is not a chance that is bought, as in the case of a hunt and the like, but a thing; and if this does not exist, no sale is contracted, and therefore the price will be recovered by condictio.

Notes

  1. §18.4.7.prut sit emptio — A clause of purpose introduced by "ut", meaning "in order for a sale to exist (or to be valid)".
  2. §18.4.7.prquae si non est — An instance of relative connection (connecting relative). "quae" refers back to the feminine noun "res" and functions as the subject of the conditional clause "si non est".
  3. §18.4.7.prcondicetur — Future passive third-person singular of "condicere" (to claim recovery of property). Since the contract is not formed, the price paid becomes an unjust enrichment and is subject to recovery via "condictio".

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.4.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.4.7.pr

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