Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.1.23.pr-22.1.23.1

Absence on Public Business and Default in the Thing Itself

Passage 3183 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text explains that a person forced to be absent on public business is not in default if they cannot delegate their defense, and discusses how default may be decreed in the thing itself if there is no one to be sued.

[ULPIANUS libro trigesimo quarto ad edictum. ] §22.1.23.prSed et si rei publicae causa abesse subito coactus sit, ut defensionem sui mandare non possit, moram facere non uidebitur: siue in uinculis hostiumue potestate esse coeperit.
[ULPIANUS, from his thirty-fourth book on the Edict.] But also, if he has been suddenly compelled to be absent on public business, so that he cannot delegate his defence, he will not be deemed to be in default; or if he has begun to be in confinement or in the power of the enemy.
§22.1.23.1Aliquando etiam in re moram esse decerni solet, si forte non exstat qui conueniatur.
Sometimes it is also customary to decree that there is default in the thing itself, if by chance there is no one who can be sued.

Notes

  1. §22.1.23.prsiue — Introduces an alternative conditional clause, extending the excuse to someone who has fallen into confinement or enemy custody. The main clause `moram facere non uidebitur` is understood to apply to this clause as well.
  2. §22.1.23.1in re moram esse — An accusative with infinitive clause acting as the subject of `decerni solet`. `in re` (in the thing itself) refers to default arising from the objective status of the subject matter or the absence of the debtor ('mora in re'), in contrast to default caused by the debtor's personal neglect ('mora in persona').
  3. §22.1.23.1qui conueniatur — A relative clause of characteristic containing the subjunctive passive `conueniatur` (from `conuenire`, meaning to sue or summon legally), meaning 'someone who can be sued.'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.1.23.pr-22.1.23.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.1.23.pr-22.1.23.1

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.