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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.5.16.pr

Husband's Liability for Usucapion Caused by Failure to Claim

Passage 3507 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the liability of a husband who neglected to claim a tract of land given as a dowry but possessed by a third party, thereby allowing the third party to complete acquisition by long-term possession.

[TRYFONINUS libro undecimo disputationum. ] §23.5.16.prSi fundum, quem Titius possidebat bona fide longi temporis possessione poterat sibi quaerere, mulier ut suum marito dedit in dotem eumque petere neglexerit uir, cum id facere posset, rem periculi sui fecit: nam licet lex Iulia, quae uetat fundum dotalem alienari, pertineat etiam ad huiusmodi adquisitionem, non tamen interpellat eam possessionem, quae per longum tempus fit, si ante, quam constitueretur dotalis fundus, iam coeperat.
[TRYFONINUS, Discussions, Book XI.] If a wife gave to her husband as a dowry, as if it were her own, a tract of land which Titius possessed in good faith and was able to acquire for himself through long-term possession, and the husband, although he was able to do so, neglected to claim it, he has made the property at his own risk. For although the Julian law, which forbids a dotal estate to be alienated, applies also to this kind of acquisition, it nevertheless does not interrupt that possession which takes place over a long period, if it had already begun before the dotal estate was established.
plane si paucissimi dies ad perficiendam longi temporis possessionem superfuerunt, nihil erit, quod imputabitur marito.
Clearly, if very few days remained to complete the long-term possession, there will be nothing that can be imputed to the husband.

Notes

  1. §23.5.16.prrem periculi sui fecit — Literally "made the property at his own risk." It means that the husband bears the risk of loss (i.e., liability for negligence) resulting from his failure to prevent the completion of the long-term possession.
  2. §23.5.16.prnon tamen interpellat eam possessionem — “It nevertheless does not interrupt that possession.” Here, `interpellare` is used in the legal sense of "interrupting" or "halting" the running of prescription (long-term possession). It indicates that the prohibition of alienation under the Julian law does not automatically suspend a possession that had already begun.
  3. §23.5.16.prnihil erit, quod imputabitur marito — “There will be nothing that can be imputed to the husband.” The verb `imputare` means "to reckon against someone as a fault" or "to impute liability." If the remaining days were too few, the husband had no practical opportunity to take legal action to interrupt the possession, hence no negligence (neglegentia) can be charged against him.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.5.16.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.5.16.pr

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