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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §21.1.29.pr-21.1.29.3

Mutual Duties and Scope of Condemnation in Rescission

Passage 3044 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text discusses the mutual duties of the buyer and the seller in an action for rescission, the scope of the condemnation including the price, accessions, and interest, and the method of compensating the buyer for damages and expenses.

[ULPIANUS libro primo ad edictum aedilium curulium. ] §21.1.29.prIllud sciendum est, si emptor uenditori haec non praestat, quae desiderantur in hac actione, non posse ei uenditorem condemnari: si autem emptori uenditor ista non praestat, condemnabitur ei.
[ULPIANUS libro primo ad edictum aedilium curulium.] It must be known that if the buyer does not perform for the seller those things which are required in this action, the seller cannot be condemned to him; but if on the other hand the seller does not perform those things for the buyer, he will be condemned to him.
§21.1.29.1Item emptori praestandum est, ut pecuniae, cuius nomine obligatus erit, liberetur, siue ipsi uenditori obligatus sit siue etiam alii.
Likewise, provision must be made for the buyer so that he may be released from the money in respect of which he is obligated, whether he is obligated to the seller himself or also to another.
§21.1.29.2Condemnatio autem fit, quanti ea res erit: ergo excedet pretium an non, uideamus.
Now, the condemnation is made for the value that the thing will have: therefore, let us see whether it exceeds the price or not.
et quidem continet condemnatio pretium accessionesque.
And indeed, the condemnation includes the price and the accessions.
an et usuras pretii consequatur, quasi quod sua intersit debeat accipere, maxime cum fructus quoque ipse restituat? et placet consecuturum.
Does he also obtain interest on the price, as if he ought to receive what is in his interest, especially since he himself also restores the fruits? And it is held that he will obtain it.
§21.1.29.3Si quid tamen damni sensit uel si quid pro seruo impendit, consequetur arbitrio iudicis, sic tamen, non ut ei horum nomine uenditor condemnetur, ut ait Iulianus, sed ne alias compellatur hominem uenditori restituere, quam si eum indemnem praestet.
If, however, he has suffered any damage or if he has spent anything on the slave, he will obtain it by the arbitrament of the judge, but in this manner: not that the seller should be condemned to him on account of these things, as Julian says, but that he should not otherwise be compelled to restore the slave to the seller than if the seller makes him harmless.

Notes

  1. §21.1.29.1pecuniae — The verb `liberetur` (`liberare`, "to free, release") governs the genitive case `pecuniae`. In classical Latin prose, `liberare` typically takes the ablative of separation, but the genitive appears here, reflecting an archaic legal style or influence from Greek syntax.
  2. §21.1.29.3sic tamen, non ut... sed ne alias... quam si... — This construction specifies the manner in which the buyer is compensated for damages or expenses. Rather than granting a direct action to condemn the seller for these amounts, it provides an indirect remedy through a defense (analogous to a right of retention), whereby the buyer is not compelled to restore the slave unless the seller indemnifies him.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §21.1.29.pr-21.1.29.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:21.1.29.pr-21.1.29.3

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