Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.3.28.pr

Calculation of the Husband's Ability to Pay in Dowry Restitution

Passage 3620 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding the calculation of a husband's ability to pay in dowry recovery, this section explains the rule that only actual expenditures that have already depleted his assets can be factored into his ability to pay, excluding conditional liabilities.

[ULPIANUS libro primo institutionum. ] §24.3.28.prFacere posse maritus etiam id uidetur, quod a muliere consequi potest: scilicet si iam ei aliquid absit, quod pro muliere aliquid expendit uel mandato eius praestitit: ceterum si nondum ei abest, ut puta sub condicione est obligatus, nondum uidetur facere posse.
[ULPIANUS, Book 1 of the Institutes.] A husband is also deemed to be able to pay that which he can recover from the woman: that is to say, if something has already been lost to him because he has expended something on behalf of the woman or performed something by her mandate; but if it has not yet been lost to him, as for example if he is bound under a condition, he is not yet deemed to be able to pay.

Notes

  1. §24.3.28.prfacere posse — Meaning "to be able to perform or pay." In dowry recovery actions, it refers to the "ability to perform" as a standard for calculating the husband's financial capability when he claims the benefit of competence (beneficium competentiae).
  2. §24.3.28.prquod pro muliere aliquid expendit — The clause introduced by the conjunction/pronoun quod can be interpreted either as a causal clause ("because he expended...") or as an appositional noun clause explaining the content of the preceding aliquid. It describes the substantive situation where the husband has actually made an expenditure, resulting in a loss from his assets (iam ei aliquid absit).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.3.28.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.3.28.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.