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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §20.1.11.pr-20.1.11.3

Antichresis, Usufruct, and Pledges of Public Property

Passage 2924 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Marcianus explains the authority of administrators of public property to pledge assets, the agreement for applying fruits to interest (antichresis), the pledge of a usufruct and its legal protection, and the rule that urban servitudes cannot be pledged.

[MARCIANUS libro singulari ad formulam hypothecariam. ] §20.1.11.prSi is qui bona rei publicae iure administrat mutuam pecuniam pro ea accipiat, potest rem eius obligare.
[MARCIANUS, in the single book on the Hypothecary Formula.] If he who by right administers the property of a municipality should receive a loan of money on its behalf, he can pledge its property.
Si antixphcic §20.1.11.1facta sit et in fundum aut in aedes aliquis inducatur, eo usque retinet possessionem pignoris loco, donec illi pecunia soluatur, cum in usuras fructus percipiat aut locando aut ipse percipiendo habitandoque: itaque si amiserit posses- sionem, solet in factum actione uti.
If an antichresis has been made and someone is put in possession of land or a building, he retains possession in the place of a pledge until the money is paid to him, since he perceives the fruits to be applied to the interest, either by leasing them or by himself perceiving them and living there; therefore, if he should lose possession, he is accustomed to bring an action on the facts.
§20.1.11.2Usus fructus an possit pignori hypothecaeue dari, quaesitum est, siue dominus proprietatis conuenerit siue ille qui solum usum fructum habet.
The question has been raised whether a usufruct can be given in pledge or hypothec, whether the owner of the property has agreed to it, or he who has only the usufruct.
et scribit Papinianus libro undecimo responsorum tuendum creditorem et si uelit cum creditore proprietarius agere 'non esse ei ius uti frui inuito se', tali exceptione eum praetor tuebitur: 'si non inter creditorem et eum ad quem usus fructus pertinet conuenerit, ut usus fructus pignori sit': nam et cum emptorem usus fructus tuetur praetor, cur non et creditorem tuebitur? eadem ratione et debitori obicietur exceptio.
And Papinian writes in the eleventh book of his Opinions that the creditor should be protected; and if the owner wishes to bring an action against the creditor, claiming 'that he has no right to use and enjoy against his will', the praetor will protect him with such an exception: 'unless it has been agreed between the creditor and the person to whom the usufruct belongs that the usufruct should be pledged'; for since the praetor protects a buyer of a usufruct, why should he not also protect a creditor? For the same reason, the exception will also be opposed to the debtor.
§20.1.11.3Iura praediorum urbanorum pignori dari non possunt: igitur nec conuenire possunt, ut hypothecae sint.
The rights of urban estates cannot be given in pledge; therefore, neither can it be agreed that they be held in hypothec.

Notes

  1. 20.1.11.prpro ea — Refers to the preceding feminine noun res publica. Thus pro ea means 'on its behalf' or 'for the benefit of the municipality'.
  2. 20.1.11.1antixphcic — A corrupt transliteration of the Greek ἀντίχρησις (antichresis), denoting an agreement that allows the creditor to use and enjoy the pledged property to offset the interest.
  3. 20.1.11.2siue dominus proprietatis conuenerit siue ille qui solum usum fructum habet — The conjunctions siue... siue... ('whether... or...') introduce alternative conditional clauses, specifying that the main query (quaesitum est) arises regardless of whether the owner of the property or the mere usufructuary made the agreement.
  4. 20.1.11.2non esse ei ius uti frui inuito se — In this accusative and infinitive clause, the dative pronoun ei refers to the creditor, while the ablative reflexive pronoun se (forming the ablative absolute inuito se, 'against his will') refers to the owner (proprietarius), who is the subject of the governing verb uelit.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §20.1.11.pr-20.1.11.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:20.1.11.pr-20.1.11.3

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