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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.1.38.pr-24.1.38.1

Gifts to a Wife from Property Co-Owned with Brothers

Passage 3550 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It discusses donations made to a wife from property owned in common by her husband and his brothers, explaining that the donation is invalid only to the extent of the husband's co-ownership share.

[ALFENUS libro tertio digestorum a Paulo epitomatorum. ] §24.1.38.prSeruus communis uiri et fratris eius puerum donauit uxori fratris: pro qua parte is seruus qui donasset uiri esset, pro ea parte munus non esse factum mulieris respondit.
[ALFENUS in his third book of the Digests, epitomized by Paulus.] A slave owned in common by a husband and his brother donated a boy to the brother's wife: he answered that, in proportion to the share in which the slave who had made the donation belonged to the husband, to that extent the gift did not become the property of the wife.
§24.1.38.1Idem iuris erit, si ex tribus fratribus unus uxorem haberet et rem communem uxori donasset: nam ex tertia parte mulieris res facta non est, ex duabus autem partibus reliquis, si id scissent fratres aut posteaquam donata esset ratum habuissent, non debere mulierem reddere.
The same rule of law will apply if, out of three brothers, one had a wife and had donated a common thing to his wife: for to the extent of a third share, the thing does not become the property of the wife, but as to the remaining two shares, if the brothers had known of it or had ratified it after it was donated, the wife is not obliged to return it.

Notes

  1. §24.1.38.pruxori fratris — "The wife of the brother" (uxori fratris) refers to the wife of the "husband" (uir) as viewed from the perspective of his brother (frater eius), who is the co-owner. Therefore, the prohibition of donations between spouses applies to the husband's co-ownership share (pro qua parte... uiri esset).
  2. §24.1.38.prmunus non esse factum mulieris — Meaning "the gift did not become the property of the wife." "mulieris" is a genitive of possession (esse + genitive meaning "to become someone's property"), and "munus" is the subject of the accusative-with-infinitive construction.
  3. §24.1.38.1non debere mulierem reddere — Meaning "the wife is not obliged to return [it]." "mulierem" is the subject accusative of the infinitive "reddere" (and also the subject of "debere"). The object to be returned (res) is omitted from the context.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.1.38.pr-24.1.38.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.1.38.pr-24.1.38.1

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