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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.3.24.pr

Canceled Debt Document and Proof of Existing Debt

Passage 3242 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Even if a handwritten debt document is canceled and the debtor is presumed to be released, the debtor can still be rightfully sued for the remaining amount if the creditor can clearly prove that the debt is still owed.

[MODESTINUS libro quarto regularum. ] §22.3.24.prSi chirographum cancellatum fuerit, licet praesumptione debitor liberatus esse uidetur, in eam tamen quantitatem, quam manifestis probationibus creditor sibi adhuc deberi ostenderit, recte debitor conuenitur.
[MODESTINUS, in the fourth book of Rules.] If a handwritten document has been canceled, although the debtor is deemed to be released by presumption, nevertheless, for that amount which the creditor shows by manifest proofs is still owed to him, the debtor is rightfully sued.

Notes

  1. 22.3.24.prlicet ... uidetur — The conjunction licet (although) is accompanied by the indicative present uidetur instead of the subjunctive. While classical Latin typically requires the subjunctive with licet, the indicative is frequently found in Silver and post-classical/juridical Latin.
  2. 22.3.24.prin eam quantitatem ... conuenitur — The passive form conueniri (from conuenire) means "to be sued/summoned (as a defendant)," and when accompanied by the preposition in followed by the accusative, it indicates the object of the claim ("to be sued for that amount").
  3. 22.3.24.prquam ... sibi adhuc deberi ostenderit — The relative pronoun quam has eam quantitatem as its antecedent and functions as the subject accusative in the accusative-and-infinitive construction (sibi adhuc deberi) of indirect speech. The whole phrase means "(which the creditor shows) to be still owed to himself."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.3.24.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.3.24.pr

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