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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §2.8.4.pr

Liability of Sureties upon the Principal's Death or Capitis Deminutio

Passage 306 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage outlines how the praetor's orders and actions against a surety are handled when the principal who provided the surety for court appearance dies or loses citizenship, depending on whether this occurs before or after the scheduled day of production.

[PAULUS libro quarto ad edictum. ] §2.8.4.prSi decesserit qui fideiussorem dederit iudicio sistendi causa, non debebit praetor iubere exhibere eum.
[PAULUS, in the fourth book on the Edict.] If the person who gave a surety for the purpose of appearing in court dies, the praetor ought not to order him to be produced.
quod si ignorans iusserit exhiberi uel post decretum eius ante diem exhibitionis decesserit, deneganda erit actio.
But if, being ignorant of the death, the praetor orders him to be produced, or if, after the praetor's decree, the person dies before the day of production, the action must be refused.
si autem post diem exhibitionis decesserit aut amiserit ciuitatem, utiliter agi potest.
If, however, he dies after the day of production or loses his citizenship, an action can be brought effectively.

Notes

  1. §2.8.4.priudicio sistendi causa — sistendi is the genitive of the gerund of the transitive verb sisto (to make to appear, produce), and iudicio (in/to court) functions here as a dative or ablative of direction. The phrase overall means 'for the purpose of appearing in court'.
  2. §2.8.4.prignorans — A present participle in the nominative singular, agreeing with the implied subject of the clause, praetor. It describes the praetor acting 'while being ignorant' of the principal's death.
  3. §2.8.4.prutiliter agi potest — utiliter agi (an action can be brought usefully/effectively) refers to the praetorian allowance of an 'analogous action' (actio utilis), meaning that an action is permitted to proceed effectively despite not meeting the strict requirements of the civil law (ius civile).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §2.8.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.8.4.pr

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