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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §26.2.33.pr

Death of a Primary Tutor and Succession by a Substitute

Passage 3779 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses a doctrinal dispute over whether a secondary tutor succeeds to the office if the primary tutor dies after entering upon the guardianship under a conditional appointment.

[IAUOLENUS libro octauo ex posterioribus Labeonis. ] §26.2.33.prTutoribus ita datis: 'Lucium Titium tutorem do.
[JAVOLENUS, from the eighth book of Epitomes of Labeo's Posterity.] When tutors were appointed in this way: 'I appoint Lucius Titius as tutor.
si is non uiuit, tum Gaium Plautium tutorem do' Titius uixerat et tutelam gesserat, deinde mortuus erat.
If he is not alive, then I appoint Gaius Plautius as tutor.' Titius had been alive and had administered the tutelage, and subsequently died.
Trebatius negat ad Plautium pertinere tutelam, Labeo contra, Proculus quod Labeo.
Trebatius denies that the tutelage belongs to Plautius; Labeo holds the contrary, and Proculus agrees with Labeo.
ego Trebatii sententiam probo, quia illa uerba ad mortis tempus referuntur.
I approve of Trebatius' opinion, because those words are referred to the time of death.

Notes

  1. §26.2.33.prTutoribus ita datis — An ablative absolute establishing the factual premise of the legal case to be discussed.
  2. §26.2.33.prsi is non uiuit — The reference point for the present tense 'uiuit' (is alive) is the main point of legal dispute. Javolenus and Trebatius refer it to the time when the will becomes effective (the testator's death); since Titius was alive then, the condition 'if he is not alive' failed, making the substitution of Plautius invalid. Conversely, Labeo and Proculus construed it as referring to any subsequent time, meaning the tutelage would transfer to Plautius upon Titius' death.
  3. §26.2.33.prProculus quod Labeo — An elliptical expression. With the relative pronoun 'quod' containing its antecedent, it should be understood as 'Proculus [approved] what Labeo [held/approved]'.
  4. §26.2.33.prad mortis tempus — The genitive 'mortis' refers to the death of the 'testator', not that of the tutor (Titius). It provides the rationale that the words of the will should be evaluated at the moment the will becomes effective.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §26.2.33.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:26.2.33.pr

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