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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §19.2.20.pr-19.2.20.2

Conditions in Lease, Prohibition of Donation, and Unilateral Obligation

Passage 2841 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that a lease, like a sale, can be contracted conditionally, but not for the purpose of donation; he also notes an exception where only the lessee is obligated, as when a buyer leases the property until paying the price.

[PAULUS libro trigesimo quarto ad edictum. ] §19.2.20.prSicut emptio ita et locatio sub condicione fieri potest: §19.2.20.1sed donationis causa contrahi non potest.
[PAULUS, On the Edict, book 34] Just as a sale, so also a lease can be made under a condition; but it cannot be contracted for the purpose of a donation.
§19.2.20.2Interdum locator non obligatur, conductor obligatur, ueluti cum emptor fundum conducit, donec pretium ei soluat.
Sometimes the lessor is not obligated, while the lessee is obligated; for example, when a buyer leases a farm until he pays the price to him.

Notes

  1. 19.2.20.1donationis causa — For a lease (locatio conductio) to be valid, rent (merces) is an essential element; thus, a gratuitous agreement made for the purpose of a donation cannot be contracted as a lease, but rather falls under loan for use (commodatum) or donation (donatio).
  2. 19.2.20.2locator non obligatur — Although a lease is normally a bilateral contract, in this specific example, the lessor (who is the seller) is already obligated to deliver and allow the use of the farm based on the contract of sale (emptio venditio). Therefore, he does not incur any new obligation under the lease, while only the lessee (the buyer) is obligated to pay the rent.
  3. 19.2.20.2ei — The dative pronoun referring to the seller (venditor, who is the lessor "locator" in this scenario). It indicates that the buyer leases the farm until he pays the price to the seller.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §19.2.20.pr-19.2.20.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:19.2.20.pr-19.2.20.2

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