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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §19.5.11.pr

Necessity of Actions on the Case and Praetorian Supplementation

Passage 2898 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius explains that actions on the case are required to remedy the incomplete number of actions, and that the praetor supplements existing statutory actions where they are lacking, using the Lex Aquilia as an example.

[POMPONIUS libro trigesimo nono ad Quintum Mucium. ] §19.5.11.prQuia actionum non plenus numerus esset, ideo plerumque actiones in factum desiderantur.
[POMPONIUS in the thirty-ninth book on Quintus Mucius.]\n\nBecause the number of actions was not complete, therefore in most cases actions on the case (actiones in factum) are required.
sed et eas actiones, quae legibus proditae sunt, si lex iusta ac necessaria sit, supplet praetor in eo quod legi deest: quod facit in lege Aquilia reddendo actiones in factum accommodatas legi Aquiliae, idque utilitas eius legis exigit.
But also, as for those actions which have been established by laws, if the law is just and necessary, the praetor supplies them in that which is lacking to the law; which he does in the Lex Aquilia by granting actions on the case adapted to the Lex Aquilia, and the utility of that law demands this.

Notes

  1. §19.5.11.prQuia actionum non plenus numerus esset — The subjunctive 'esset' is used in the causal clause introduced by 'quia' instead of the indicative. This indicates that the author is presenting the reason not as his own direct assertion, but as a reported or objective background fact inherent in the legal system or in the views of Quintus Mucius under commentary.
  2. §19.5.11.preas actiones ... supplet praetor in eo quod legi deest — The accusative 'eas actiones' functions as the direct object of the transitive verb 'supplet'. The structure means that the praetor supplements 'those existing actions' in the respect that is lacking to the statutory law ('in eo quod legi deest'), highlighting the praetorian expansion of statutory remedies.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §19.5.11.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:19.5.11.pr

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