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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.4.2.pr

Requirement of Original Instruments in Treasury Lawsuits

Passage 3249 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It stipulates that in lawsuits brought by the treasury, prosecution must be based on the original document of verified authenticity rather than a summary or copy, and that fraudulent writings should not have legal force.

[IDEM libro quinto sententiarum. ] §22.4.2.prQuicumque a fisco conuenitur, non ex indice et exemplo alicuius scripturae, sed ex authentico conueniendus est et ita, si contractus fides possit ostendi: ceterum calumniosam scripturam uim in iudicio optinere non conuenit.
[THE SAME from the fifth book of Sentences.] Whoever is sued by the treasury must not be sued on the basis of a summary or copy of any writing, but on the basis of the original, and only so if the authenticity of the contract can be demonstrated; for otherwise, it is not fitting that a deceitful writing should obtain force in court.

Notes

  1. §22.4.2.pret ita, si — The adverb "ita" here expresses a conditional limitation ("only in this way, if..."), with an ellipse of "conueniendus est" (or an impersonal "conueniendum est"). It is interpreted as "and only so, if the authenticity of the contract can be demonstrated."
  2. §22.4.2.prcalumniosam scripturam — This is the subject of the accusative-with-infinitive construction (ACI) "calumniosam scripturam... optinere", which functions as the subject clause of the impersonal verb "non conuenit". In legal contexts, "calumniosus" refers not merely to "slanderous" but to "fraudulent", "forged", or "vexatious" documents lacking genuine authority.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.4.2.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.4.2.pr

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