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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §21.2.37.pr-21.2.37.2

Stipulation of Double Value for Valuable Goods and Slaves

Passage 3118 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the requirement for sellers to promise double the price in case of eviction, its limitation to high-value goods and slaves, and the remedies available to the buyer who mistakenly stipulated for only a single value.

[ULPIANUS libro trigesimo secundo ad edictum. ] §21.2.37.prEmptori duplam promitti a uenditore oportet, nisi aliud conuenit: non tamen ut satisdetur, nisi si specialiter id actum proponatur, sed ut repromittatur.
[ULPIAN, On the Edict, Book Thirty-Two] The seller must promise double the price to the buyer, unless it has been agreed otherwise; however, this does not mean that security must be given (unless it is proposed that this was specially agreed upon), but that a bare promise should be made.
§21.2.37.1Quod autem diximus duplam promitti oportere, sic erit accipiendum, ut non ex omni re id accipiamus, sed de his rebus, quae pretiosiores essent, si margarita forte aut ornamenta pretiosa uel uestis Serica uel quid aliud non contemptibile ueneat.
But what we said, that double the price must be promised, is to be understood in such a way that we do not apply this to every transaction, but to those things which are of greater value, as if, for example, pearls or precious ornaments or silk garments or any other thing of non-negligible value is sold.
per edictum autem curulium etiam de seruo cauere uenditor iubetur.
Moreover, by the curule edict, the seller is also commanded to provide a guarantee concerning a slave.
§21.2.37.2Si simplam pro dupla per errorem stipulatus sit emptor, re euicta consecuturum eum ex empto Neratius ait, quanto minus stipulatus sit, si modo omnia facit emptor, quae in stipulatione continentur: quod si non fecit, ex empto id tantum consecuturum, ut ei promittatur quod minus in stipulationem superiorem deductum est.
If the buyer, by mistake, has stipulated for single the value instead of double, Neratius says that, if the thing is evicted, he will obtain by the action on purchase as much as less he has stipulated, provided that the buyer performs all that is contained in the stipulation; but if he has not done so, he will only obtain by the action on purchase that what was less brought into the prior stipulation be promised to him.

Notes

  1. §21.2.37.prsatisdetur — The clause non tamen ut satisdetur... sed ut repromittatur consists of noun clauses (ut with subjunctive) continuing from the impersonal verb oportet, defining the scope of the seller's obligation. It contrasts satisdatio (providing security with third-party sureties or collateral) and repromissio (a bare promise by the seller without extra security), indicating that normally only the latter is required.
  2. §21.2.37.2quanto minus stipulatus sit — A clause expressing the amount of deficiency ("by how much less he stipulated"), acting as the object of the preceding infinitive consecuturum (esse) or a relative clause of measure of difference. It means that if the buyer mistakenly stipulated for single the value instead of double, he can recover the difference (the deficit) through the action on purchase (ex empto).
  3. §21.2.37.2ut ei promittatur quod minus — A noun clause (ut with subjunctive) explaining the phrase id tantum consecuturum (esse). If the buyer has not performed all his obligations under the stipulation, he cannot immediately recover the monetary difference, but can only demand that the seller make a new promise (stipulation) for the remaining deficit (quod minus), illustrating a step-by-step restriction on remedies.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §21.2.37.pr-21.2.37.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:21.2.37.pr-21.2.37.2

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