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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §2.8.8.pr-2.8.8.6

Ineligible Sureties and Providing Security in a Municipality

Passage 310 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the determination of deadlines in stipulations, remedies for defective security provided by women, minors, or slaves, the renewal of security in cases of merger through inheritance, and the procedural requirements for allowing security to be given in a municipium, including the oath against calumny.

[PAULUS libro quarto decimo ad edictum. ] §2.8.8.prDe die ponenda in stipulatione solet inter litigatores conuenire.
[PAULUS, in the fourteenth book on the Edict.] It is customary for litigants to agree upon the date to be fixed in a stipulation.
si non conueniat, Pedius putat in potestate stipulatoris esse moderato spatio: de hoc a iudice statuendum.
If they do not agree, Pedius thinks that it is within the power of the stipulator, within a reasonable period of time; this must be decided by the judge.
§2.8.8.1Qui mulierem adhibet ad satisdandum, non uidetur cauere: sed nec miles nec minor uiginti quinque annis probandi sunt: nisi hae personae in rem suam fideiubeant, ut pro suo procuratore.
He who presents a woman to provide security is not deemed to give security; but neither a soldier nor a minor under twenty-five years is to be approved, unless these persons stand surety in their own interest, as for instance for their own procurator.
quidam etiam, si a marito fundus dotalis petatur, in rem suam fideiussuram mulierem.
Some also hold that, if dotal land is claimed from a husband, the woman will stand surety in her own interest.
§2.8.8.2Si seruus inueniatur, qui antequam iudicium accipiatur fideiussit iudicatum solui: succurrendum est actori, ut ex integro caueatur.
If it is found that a slave has stood surety for the payment of the judgment before the joinder of issue, relief must be given to the plaintiff, so that security may be given anew.
minori quoque uiginti quinque annis succurrendum est, fortasse et mulieri propter imperitiam.
Relief must also be given to a minor under twenty-five years, and perhaps also to a woman on account of her lack of experience.
§2.8.8.3Si fideiussor iudicatum solui stipulatori heres extiterit aut stipulator fideiussori, ex integro cauendum erit.
If a surety for the payment of the judgment becomes the heir of the stipulator, or the stipulator of the surety, security must be provided anew.
§2.8.8.4Tutor et curator, ut rem saluam fore pupillo caueant, mittendi sunt in municipium, quia necessaria est satisdatio: item de re restituenda domino proprietatis, cuius usus fructus datus est: item legatarius, ut caueat euicta hereditate legata reddi, et quod amplius per legem Falcidiam ceperit: heres quoque ut legatorum satisdet audiendus est, ut in municipium mittatur.
A tutor and a curator, in order to guarantee that the property of the pupillus will be safe, must be sent to the municipium, because the security is necessary; likewise with respect to returning the property to the owner of the property, the ususfruct of which has been given; likewise the legatee, to guarantee that the legacies will be returned if the inheritance is evicted, and also what he has received in excess under the Falcidian law; the heir also, in order to give security for the legacies, must be heard so that he may be sent to the municipium.
plane si misso iam legatario in possessionem, cum per heredem staret quominus caueret, heres postulet uti de possessione decedat paratumque se dicat in municipio cauere: impetrare non debebit.
Clearly, if the legatee has already been put into possession, when the heir was the cause of security not being given, and the heir requests that the legatee withdraw from possession and declares that he is ready to provide security in the municipium, he must not obtain his request.
diuersum, si sine culpa aut dolo heredis missus sit in possessionem.
The case is different if the legatee was put into possession without fault or fraud on the part of the heir.
§2.8.8.5Iubetur iurare de calumnia, ne quis uexandi magis aduersarii causa, forsitan cum Romae possit satisdare, in municipium euocet: sed quibusdam hoc iusiurandum de calumnia remittitur, uelut parentibus et patronis.
He is ordered to take the oath against calumny, lest anyone, rather for the sake of harassing his opponent, call him to the municipium, when perhaps he is able to provide security at Rome; but for certain persons this oath against calumny is remitted, such as parents and patrons.
sic autem iurare debet qui in municipium remittitur 'Romae se satisdare non posse et ibi posse, quo postulat remitti, idque se non calumniae causa facere': nam sic non est compellendus iurare ‘alibi se quam eo loco satisdare non posse', quia si Romae non potest, pluribus autem locis possit, cogitur peierare.
But he who is referred to the municipium must swear in this way: 'that he cannot provide security at Rome and can do so in the place to which he requests to be referred, and that he does not do this for the sake of calumny'; for he must not be compelled to swear in this way, 'that he cannot provide security anywhere else than in that place,' because if he cannot do so at Rome, but can in several places, he would be forced to commit perjury.
§2.8.8.6Hoc autem tunc impetrabitur, cum iusta causa esse uidebitur.
But this will be obtained only when there appears to be a just cause.
quid enim si, cum erat in municipio, noluit cauere? hoc casu non debet impetrare, cum per eum steterit, quominus ibi, ubi ire desiderat, satisdaret.
For what if, when he was in the municipium, he refused to provide security? In this case he must not obtain his request, since he himself was the cause of not providing security there, where he desires to go.

Notes

  1. §2.8.8.1fideiussuram mulierem — An accusative with infinitive construction where `esse` and the main verb (such as `putant` or `existimant`, agreeing with `quidam`) are omitted. It is understood as "some also [hold] that the woman will stand surety in her own interest if dotal land is claimed from her husband."
  2. §2.8.8.4mittendi sunt — A gerundive expressing obligation or necessity. In this context, it implies "they must be sent to the municipium (i.e., allowed to provide security there)." The subsequent `item...` phrases and `heres quoque... audiendus est, ut in municipium mittatur` refer to the same legal relief.
  3. §2.8.8.4per heredem staret quominus caueret — An idiomatic construction using the impersonal expression `per aliquem stat quominus...` ("it is due to someone that ... not ..."). Here it means "it was due to the heir that security was not given." The imperfect subjunctives `staret` and `caueret` reflect the sequence of tenses and the hypothetical nature of the clause.
  4. §2.8.8.5uexandi magis aduersarii causa — The preposition `causa` (for the sake of, taking the genitive) is placed after the noun phrase. Here it governs the gerundive phrase `uexandi aduersarii` ("of harassing the opponent"), with the adverb `magis` ("rather") inserted between them, meaning "rather for the sake of harassing the opponent."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §2.8.8.pr-2.8.8.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.8.8.pr-2.8.8.6

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