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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.5.21.pr-22.5.21.3

Disqualification of Witnesses and Assessment of Credibility

Passage 3274 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text details the grounds for the loss of capacity to testify, the obligation of magistrates to give evidence, the necessity of examining gladiators under torture, and the judicial principles for evaluating conflicting testimonies based on credibility rather than mere numbers.

[ARCADIUS qui et CHARISIUS libro singulari de testibus. ] §22.5.21.prOb carmen famosum damnatus intestabilis fit.
[ARCADIUS, who is also called CHARISIUS, in his single book on Witnesses.] A person convicted on account of an infamous libel becomes incapable of testifying.
§22.5.21.1Illud quoque incunctabile est, ut, si res exigat, non tantum priuati, sed etiam magistratus, si in praesenti sint, testimonium dicant.
This also is beyond doubt, that, if the case requires it, not only private persons but also magistrates, if they are present, should give evidence.
Item senatus censuit praetorem testimonium dare debere in iudicio adulterii causa.
Likewise, the senate decreed that a praetor ought to give evidence in a trial on account of adultery.
§22.5.21.2Si ea rei condiciosit, ubi harenarium testem uel similem personam admittere cogimur, sine tormentis testimonio eius credendum non est.
If such is the condition of the case that we are compelled to admit a gladiator or a similar person as a witness, his evidence must not be believed without torture.
§22.5.21.3Si testes omnes eiusdem honestatis et existimationis altera negotii qualitas ac iudicis motus cum his concurrit, sequenda sunt omnia testimonia: si uero ex his quidam eorum aliud dixerint, licet impari numero, credendum est id quod naturae negotii conuenit et quod inimicitiae aut gratiae suspicione caret, confirmabitque iudex motum animi sui ex argumentis et testimoniis et quae rei aptiora et uero proximiora esse compererit: non enim ad multitudinem respici oportet, sed ad sinceram testimoniorum fidem et testimonia, quibus potius lux ueritatis adsistit.
If all the witnesses are of the same integrity and reputation, and the other quality of the case and the conviction of the judge concur with them, all the testimonies must be followed; but if indeed some of them have said something else, although they be unequal in number, belief should be given to that which agrees with the nature of the transaction and is free from suspicion of enmity or favor; and the judge shall confirm his own conviction from the arguments and testimonies and from those things which he has found to be more suitable to the matter and closer to the truth; for one ought not to look to the number, but to the sincere trustworthiness of the testimonies and to those testimonies which the light of truth more closely attends.

Notes

  1. §22.5.21.printestabilis — While this term generally denotes the incapacity to make or benefit from a will, in the specific context of this chapter 'on witnesses' it refers to being disqualified from giving testimony in court.
  2. §22.5.21.1ut... testimonium dicant — This noun clause introduced by the conjunction 'ut' serves either as the subject of the impersonal expression at the beginning of the sentence or as an appositional clause explaining the content of the demonstrative pronoun 'illud'.
  3. §22.5.21.3eiusdem honestatis et existimationis — Genitive of quality. It functions as a predicate (complement) modifying the subject 'testes omnes', with the omission of a copula (such as 'sint' or 'sunt') understood in the structure.
  4. §22.5.21.3licet impari numero — An elliptical phrase where the concessive conjunction 'licet' introduces the ablative noun phrase 'impari numero', meaning 'although they are unequal in number' (i.e., even if they are in the minority).
  5. §22.5.21.3et quae... compererit — A relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun 'quae' (neuter plural accusative) with its antecedent 'ea' omitted. The preposition 'ex' governs not only the preceding 'argumentis' and 'testimoniis' but also this entire relative clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.5.21.pr-22.5.21.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.5.21.pr-22.5.21.3

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