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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §21.1.30.pr-21.1.30.1

Mutual Security and Expense Offsets in Actions to Return Slaves

Passage 3045 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses the mutual security required of the parties regarding settlement and restoration in an action for the return of a slave, addressing the deduction of necessary treatment expenses incurred after joinder of issue and the correlation between maintenance and the slave's services.

[PAULUS libro primo ad edictum aedilium curulium. ] §21.1.30.prItem si serui redhibendi nomine emptor iudicium accepit uel ipse eius nomine dictauit, cauendum ex utraque parte erit, ut, si quid sine dolo malo condemnatus sit uel si quid ex eo quod egerit ad eum peruenerit doloue malo eius factum sit quo minus perueniret, id reddat.
[PAULUS first book on the edict of the curule aediles.] Likewise, if the buyer has accepted an action on account of restoring the slave, or if he himself has dictated it on its account, security must be given by both parties that if he has been condemned in anything without dolus malus, or if anything has come to him from that which he has done, or if it was due to his dolus malus that it did not come, he shall restore it.
§21.1.30.1Quas impensas necessario in curandum seruum post litem contestatam emptor fecerit, imputabit: praecedentes impensas nominatim comprehendendas Pedius: sed cibaria seruo data non esse imputanda Aristo, nam nec ab ipso exigi, quod in ministerio eius fuit.
What expenses the buyer has necessarily incurred in caring for the slave after joinder of issue, he will deduct; Pedius says that preceding expenses must be expressly included; but Aristo says that the food given to the slave must not be deducted, for neither is that which was in his service demanded from him himself.

Notes

  1. §21.1.30.priudicium accepit uel ipse eius nomine dictauit — This refers to the procedural acts of the parties in Roman formulary procedure. `iudicium accipere` (to accept the action) means that the defendant accepts the formula, while `iudicium dictare` (to dictate the action) means that the plaintiff dictates or formulates the action for the defendant. Here, it covers cases where the buyer is involved in the lawsuit either as defendant or as plaintiff.
  2. §21.1.30.prdoloue malo eius factum sit quo minus perueniret — `quo minus` introduces a subjunctive clause (`perueniret`) after expressions of prevention or hindrance (here, `factum sit` "it was brought about that"). It means "or if it was due to his dolus malus that it did not come (literally: so that it would less arrive)."
  3. §21.1.30.1quod in ministerio eius fuit — A noun clause acting as the subject of the infinitive `exigi` in indirect speech. `quod` functions as a conjunction ("the fact that") or a relative pronoun ("that which"), referring to the slave being in the buyer's service (and the benefits derived from it). Since the buyer is not required to restore the benefits of the slave's services to the seller (`nec exigi`), they cannot charge the corresponding maintenance costs (`cibaria`) to the seller.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §21.1.30.pr-21.1.30.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:21.1.30.pr-21.1.30.1

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