Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §2.5.3.pr

Failure to Appear Without a Penalty and Action for an Uncertain Sum

Passage 292 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian and Celsus state that if a person promises to appear in court without specifying a penalty for default, an action for an uncertain amount must be brought against them for the plaintiff's interest.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragensimo septimo ad Sabinum. ] §2.5.3.prCum quis in iudicio sisti promiserit neque adiecerit poenam, si status non esset: incerti cum eo agendum esse in id quod interest uerissimum est, et ita Celsus quoque scribit.
[ULPIANUS, in the forty-seventh book on Sabinus.] When anyone has promised to appear in court and has not added a penalty in case he should not have appeared, it is most true that an action for an uncertain amount must be brought against him for his interest, and Celsus also writes thus.

Notes

  1. §2.5.3.prsisti — Present passive infinitive of the verb sistere (to make to stand, to cause to appear). Here it is used in a reflexive or intransitive sense, meaning "to appear" or "to present oneself" in court.
  2. §2.5.3.princerti — Genitive neuter of the adjective incertus (uncertain). Used here with agendum esse (an action must be brought) to refer to the "action for an uncertain amount" (actio incerti), where the formula of the formulaic procedure does not specify a fixed sum of money.
  3. §2.5.3.prin id quod interest — A relative clause containing the third-person singular verb interest (it matters, it is of importance). In legal terminology, it refers to the "interest" (id quod interest), meaning the actual financial loss or lost profit of the plaintiff caused by the non-performance (default of appearance).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §2.5.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.5.3.pr

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