Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §21.2.24.pr

Dowry Given to Owner and the Action on Purchase

Passage 3105 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Africanus discusses a case where a woman gives a slave as dowry to a man who is the actual owner of that slave, stating that the stipulation is not triggered because there is no judicial eviction, though she still has an action on purchase against the seller.

[AFRICANUS libro sexto quaestionum. ] §21.2.24.prNon tamen ei consequens esse, ut et, si ipsi domino nuptura in dotem eum dederit, committi stipulationem dicamus, quamuis aeque indotata mulier futura sit, quoniam quidem, etiamsi uerum sit habere ei non licere seruum, illud tamen uerum non sit iudicio eum euictum esse.
[AFRICANUS, Questions, Book Six] However, it does not follow from this that we should say the stipulation is triggered, even if a woman, about to marry the owner himself, has given him (the slave) as a dowry, although the woman will be equally without a dowry; because, even if it is true that he is not allowed to hold the slave, it is nevertheless not true that he (the slave) was evicted by a judicial decision.
ex empto tamen contra uenditorem mulier habet actionem.
Nonetheless, the woman has an action on purchase against the seller.

Notes

  1. §21.2.24.prNon tamen ei consequens esse — The infinitive esse at the beginning of the sentence is due to indirect speech (oratio obliqua) reporting the jurist's opinion, with the governing verb of saying (such as inquit) being omitted.
  2. §21.2.24.prcommitti stipulationem — The verb committi (passive infinitive of committo) in the context of a stipulation means that the condition (such as eviction) has been fulfilled, thereby rendering the penalty or compensation exigible.
  3. §21.2.24.prhabere ei non licere — habere licere (to be permitted to hold/possess) is a formulaic expression related to the legal definition of eviction (evictio). Here it refers to the fact that the husband (ei) cannot legally hold the slave on the basis of the dowry agreement, since he was already the actual owner.
  4. §21.2.24.prex empto — Since the woman had purchased the slave in question from a third party (the seller) before giving him as a dowry, she can bring the action on purchase (actio ex empto) against the seller to claim damages for the failure to transfer ownership (sale of another's property).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §21.2.24.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:21.2.24.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.