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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.4.9.pr

Agreements on Recipients for Dowry Return Upon a Daughter's Death

Passage 3468 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses the validity of a stipulation regarding the return of a dowry in the event of the daughter's death during her father-in-law's lifetime, specifying the father-in-law, his son, or the son's heir as the recipient.

[POMPONIUS libro sexto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §23.4.9.prSi ita conueniat, ut, si uiuo socero mortua sit filia, ipsi socero, si mortuo, filio eius, si filio quoque defuncto totum suo heredi reddatur, benigna interpretatione potest defendi utilem stipulationem esse.
[POMPONIUS from the sixteenth book on Sabinus.]\n\nIf it should be agreed that, if the daughter dies while the father-in-law is living, [the dowry] is to be returned to the father-in-law himself, if he is dead, to his son, and if the son also is deceased, the whole is to be returned to his own heir, it can be maintained by a liberal interpretation that the stipulation is valid.

Notes

  1. §23.4.9.pruiuo socero — An ablative absolute consisting of a noun and an adjective, meaning "while the father-in-law is living." The subsequent phrases `si mortuo` and `si filio quoque defuncto` are also elliptical expressions of ablative absolutes (`socero mortuo` and `filio defuncto`) functioning as conditional clauses.
  2. §23.4.9.prsuo heredi — The reflexive pronoun `suus` refers to `filio` (the son), the logical subject of the preceding ablative absolute. Thus, it means "the heir of the son." The issue here is how far the validity of the stipulation can be maintained, against the general rule that stipulations in favor of a third party are void.
  3. §23.4.9.prutilem stipulationem esse — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) clause serving as the subject of the passive verb `defendi` ("to be maintained/defended"), meaning "that the stipulation is valid (utilis)."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.4.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.4.9.pr

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