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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.3.7.pr-23.3.7.3

Ownership of Dotal Fruits and Remedies on Failed Marriage

Passage 3381 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the ownership of dotal income before and during marriage, the timing of property transfer when assets are given as a dowry, and the choice of legal remedies (personal action for recovery vs. ownership claim) if the marriage fails to take place.

[ULPIANUS libro trigesimo primo ad Sabinum. ] §23.3.7.prDotis fructum ad maritum pertinere debere aequitas suggerit: cum enim ipse onera matrimonii subeat, aequum est eum etiam fructus percipere.
[ULPIANUS in the thirty-first book on Sabinus.] Equity suggests that the income of a dowry ought to belong to the husband; for since he himself bears the burdens of marriage, it is fair that he should also receive its income.
§23.3.7.1Si fructus constante matrimonio percepti sint, dotis non erunt: si uero ante nuptias percepti fuerint, in dotem conuertuntur.
If the income has been received during the subsistence of the marriage, it will not form part of the dowry; but if it was received before the marriage, it is converted into dowry.
nisi forte aliquid inter maritum futurum et destinatam uxorem conuenit: tunc enim quasi donatione facta fructus non redduntur.
Unless, by chance, some agreement was made between the future husband and the intended wife; for in that case, as if a gift had been made, the income is not restored.
§23.3.7.2Si usus fructus in dotem datus sit, uideamus, utrum fructus reddendi sunt nec ne.
If a usufruct has been given as a dowry, let us see whether the income must be restored or not.
et Celsus libro decimo digestorum ait interesse, quid acti sit, et nisi appareat aliud actum, putare se ius ipsum in dote esse, non etiam fructus qui percipiuntur.
And Celsus, in the tenth book of his Digests, says that it matters what was agreed, and unless it appears that something else was agreed, he thinks that the right itself is in the dowry, and not also the income which is received.
§23.3.7.3Si res in dote dentur, puto in bonis mariti fieri accessionemque temporis marito ex persona mulieris concedendam.
If properties are given as a dowry, I think they become part of the husband's estate, and the accession of time must be granted to the husband from the person of the woman.
fiunt autem res mariti, si constante matrimonio in dotem dentur.
Moreover, properties become the husband's if they are given as a dowry during the subsistence of the marriage.
quid ergo, si ante matrimonium? si quidem sic dedit mulier, ut statim eius fiant, efficiuntur: enimuero si hac condicione dedit, ut tunc efficiantur, cum nupserit, sine dubio dicemus tunc eius fieri, cum nuptiae fuerint secutae.
What then, if before the marriage? If indeed the woman gave them in such a way that they immediately become his, they do become so; but if she gave them under the condition that they become his when she marries, we shall without doubt say that they become his when the marriage has followed.
proinde si forte nuptiae non sequantur nuntio remisso, si quidem sic dedit mulier, ut statim uiri res fiant, condicere eas debebit misso nuntio: enimuero si sic dedit, ut secutis nuptiis incipiant esse, nuntio remisso statim eas uindicabit.
Consequently, if by chance the marriage does not follow after a message of repudiation is sent, if indeed the woman gave them so that they immediately become the husband's, she must sue for their return by a personal action after the message has been sent; but if she gave them so that they begin to be his once the marriage has followed, she will immediately claim them as owner after the message is sent.
sed ante nuntium remissum si uindicabit, exceptio poterit nocere uindicanti aut doli aut in factum: doti enim destinata non debebunt uindicari.
But if she claims them before the message is sent, an exception either of fraud or on the facts can harm the claimant; for things destined for a dowry ought not to be claimed.

Notes

  1. §23.3.7.2interesse, quid acti sit — The indirect question 'quid acti sit' (what was transacted/agreed) serves as the subject/complement of the impersonal verb 'interesse'. Here, 'acti' is a partitive genitive qualifying the neuter pronoun 'quid'.
  2. §23.3.7.3accessionemque temporis marito ex persona mulieris concedendam — An accusative with infinitive construction dependent on 'puto', with 'esse' omitted after the gerundive 'concedendam'. 'accessionem' is the subject accusative and 'concedendam [esse]' is the predicate. Legally, it refers to the accession of possession (accessio temporis) for usucapion.
  3. §23.3.7.3doti enim destinata — 'destinata' is a neuter plural nominative (with the subject 'ea' omitted), meaning 'things destined'. 'doti' functions as a dative of purpose, indicating that the properties are designated to serve as a dowry.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.3.7.pr-23.3.7.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.3.7.pr-23.3.7.3

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