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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.1.12.pr

Assessment of Default Interest Clauses on Each Installment

Passage 3172 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding a contractual clause on default interest, the jurist Paulus determines that the penalty of heavier interest is assessed individually for each installment period rather than universally for the entire remaining debt upon the first default, meaning the debtor can avoid the penalty for subsequent timely payments.

[IDEM libro quarto responsorum. ] §22.1.12.prSeia mutuam pecuniam accepit a Septicio: de usuris ita conuenit: nisi sua quaque die usurae supra scriptae exsoluerentur uel post tertium mensem, tunc in maiores usuras Seia teneretur, et deinceps per singulas pensiones, si condicione data usurae non soluerentur, ea condicio obseruaretur, donec omnis summa debita hoc nomine exsolueretur. quaero, an haec uerba 'et deinceps per singulas pensiones condicione data usurae non soluantur, ea condicio obseruaretur' eo pertineant, ut, quamuis commissa sit forte prima stipulatio, non tamen in ampliorem quantitatem usurarum conueniri possit quam eius pensionis nomine, quae egressa est diem praestitutum.
[THE SAME, Opinions, Book 4.] Seia received a loan of money from Septicius, and it was agreed regarding the interest as follows: "Unless the above-written interest is paid on each of its due days, or after the third month, Seia shall then be liable for heavier interest; and thereafter for each individual instalment, if the interest is not paid under the given condition, that condition shall be observed until the whole sum due under this head is paid." I ask whether these words, "and thereafter for each individual instalment, if the interest is not paid under the given condition, that condition shall be observed," mean that, although the first stipulation may happen to have been forfeited, she cannot be sued for a larger amount of interest than under the head of that instalment which has passed its prescribed day.
Paulus respondit plures condiciones continere eam stipulationem, quae de grauioribus usuris praestandis subiecta est, id est ut per singulas pensiones condicio inspectaretur non illatarum suis temporibus leuiorum usurarum: et ideo posse euitari poenam sequentium pensionum.
Paulus answered that the stipulation which was added regarding the payment of heavier interest contains several conditions, that is, that for each individual instalment, the condition of the lower interest not having been paid in due time should be inspected; and therefore the penalty for subsequent instalments can be avoided.

Notes

  1. §22.1.12.prcommissa sit — Subjunctive perfect passive of the verb *committere*, introduced by the concessive *quamuis*. In legal contexts, it refers to a stipulation (*stipulatio*) becoming forfeited or activated due to the fulfillment of a negative condition (i.e., non-performance). Here, it refers to the condition for the higher interest being triggered by the first default.
  2. §22.1.12.prconueniri — Present passive infinitive of the verb *conuenire*. Here it is used in the legal sense of "to be sued" or "to be summoned to court", with the debtor (Seia) as the implied subject. It functions as the complement of *non tamen ... possit* ("nevertheless she cannot...").
  3. §22.1.12.prnon illatarum suis temporibus leuiorum usurarum — Genitive noun phrase. It functions as a genitive of explanation (appositive genitive) detailing the content of the preceding noun *condicio* ("the condition of the lower interest [*leuiorum usurarum*] not having been paid [*non illatarum*] in its proper time [*suis temporibus*]").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.1.12.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.1.12.pr

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