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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §26.7.3.pr-26.7.3.9

Division of Administration and Honorary Tutors' Liability

Passage 3838 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk deals with the administration of tutelage and curatorship when multiple tutors or curators are appointed, explaining the principle of committing active administration to a single person, the secondary liability of 'honorary tutors', and the conditions under which joint or divided administration is permitted.

[IDEM libro trigesimo quinto ad edictum. ] §26.7.3.prSi plures curatores dati sunt, Pomponius libro sexagesimo octauo ad edictum scripsit ratum haberi debere etiam quod per unum gestum est: nam et in furiosi curatoribus, ne utilitates furiosi impediantur, praetor uni eorum curationem decernet ratumque habebit, quod per eum sine dolo malo gestum est.
[The same, in the thirty-fifth book on the Edict.] If several curators have been given, Pomponius wrote in the sixty-eighth book on the Edict that what has been done even by one of them ought to be held valid; for also in the case of curators of an insane person, lest the interests of the insane person be hindered, the praetor will decree the administration to one of them and will hold valid what has been done by him without fraud.
§26.7.3.1Si parens uel pater qui in potestate habet destinauerit testamento, quis tutorum tutelam gerat, illum debere gerere praetor putauit, meritoque parentis statur uoluntati, qui utique recte filio prospexit.
If a parent or a father who has someone in his power has designated in his will which of the tutors is to conduct the tutelage, the praetor thought that that person ought to conduct it, and deservedly is adherence given to the will of the parent, who indeed correctly provided for his son.
tantundem praetor facit et de his, quos parens destinauit testamento, ipse autem confirmauit, ut, si parens declarauit, quem uelit tutelam administrare, ille solus administret.
The praetor does just as much also regarding those whom a parent has designated in a will, and he himself has confirmed, so that if the parent has declared whom he wishes to administer the tutelage, that person alone shall administer it.
§26.7.3.2Ceteri igitur tutores non administrabunt, sed erunt hi, quos uulgo honorarios appellamus.
The other tutors, therefore, will not administer, but will be those whom we commonly call honorary.
nec quisquam putet ad hos periculum nullum redundare: constat enim hos quoque, excussis prius facultatibus eius qui gesserit, conueniri oportere: dati sunt enim quasi obseruatores actus eius et custodes, imputabiturque eis quandoque, cur, si male eum conuersari uidebant, suspectum eum non fecerunt.
Nor should anyone think that no risk redounds to these; for it is established that these also, the resources of the one who administered having been first discussed, ought to be sued; for they have been given as it were observers of his acts and guardians, and it will be imputed to them at some time why, if they saw him behaving badly, they did not make him suspected.
adsidue igitur et rationem ab eo exigere eos oportet et sollicite curare, qualiter conuersetur, et si pecunia sit, quae deponi possit, curare, ut deponatur ad praediorum comparationem: blandiuntur enim sibi, qui putant honorarios tutores omnino non teneri: tenentur enim secundum ea quae supra ostendimus.
Constantly, therefore, they ought both to demand an account from him and to care solicitously how he behaves, and if there is money which can be deposited, to care that it be deposited for the purchase of estates; for those flatter themselves who think that honorary tutors are not held liable at all; for they are held liable according to what we have shown above.
§26.7.3.3Quamuis autem ei potissimum se tutelam commissurum praetor dicat, cui testator delegauit, attamen nonnumquam ab hoc recedet, ut puta si pater minus penso consilio hoc fecit, forte minor uiginti quinque annis, uel eo tempore fecit, quo iste tutor bonae uitae uel frugi uidebatur, deinde postea idem coepit male conuersari ignorante testatore, uel si contemplatione facultatium eius res ei commissa est, quibus postea exutus est.
Although, however, the praetor says that he will commit the tutelage especially to him to whom the testator delegated it, yet sometimes he will depart from this, as for instance if the father did this with ill-considered counsel, perhaps being under twenty-five years of age, or did it at that time when that tutor seemed of good life or frugal, then afterwards the same person began to behave badly without the knowledge of the testator, or if the matter was committed to him in view of his resources, of which he was afterwards stripped.
§26.7.3.4Nam et si unum pater dederit tutorem, nonnumquam ei adiunguntur curatores: nam imperator noster cum patre rescripsit, cum duos quis libertos suos tutores dedisset, unum rerum Italicarum, alium rerum Africanarum, curatores eis adiungendos, nec patris secuti sunt uoluntatem.
For even if a father has given one tutor, sometimes curators are joined to him; for our Emperor with his father wrote in a rescript, when someone had given two of his freedmen as tutors, one for Italian affairs, the other for African affairs, that curators were to be joined to them, and they did not follow the father's will.
§26.7.3.5Quod in tutoribus scriptum est, et in curatoribus erit obseruandum, quos pater testamento destinauit a praetore confirmandos.
What has been written in the case of tutors will also have to be observed in the case of curators, whom a parent has designated in his will to be confirmed by the praetor.
§26.7.3.6Apparet igitur praetori curae fuisse, ne tutela per plures administretur, quippe etsi pater non destinauerit quis gerere debeat, attamen id agit, ut per unum administretur: sane enim facilius unus tutor et actiones exercet et excipit.
It appears, therefore, that it was a care to the praetor that the tutelage should not be administered by several, since indeed, even if the father has not designated who ought to conduct it, yet he so acts that it is administered by one; for indeed one tutor more easily both brings and defends actions.
§26.7.3.7Ne per multos tutela spargatur, si non erit a testatore electus tutor aut gerere nolet, tum is gerat, cui maior pars tutorum tutelam decreuerit: praetor igitur iubebit eos conuocari aut, si non coibunt aut coacti non decernent, causa cognita ipse statuet, quis tutelam geret.
Lest the tutelage be scattered through many, if a tutor has not been chosen by the testator or does not wish to conduct it, then let him conduct it to whom the majority of the tutors has decreed the tutelage; the praetor therefore will order them to be convoked or, if they do not assemble or being assembled do not decree, he himself, having investigated the case, will determine who shall conduct the tutelage.
§26.7.3.8Plane si non consentiant tutores praetori, sed uelint omnes gerere, quia fidem non habeant electo nec patiuntur succedanei esse alieni periculi, dicendum est praetorem permittere eis omnibus gerere.
Clearly, if the tutors do not agree with the praetor, but all wish to conduct it, because they do not have trust in the one chosen, nor do they tolerate being substitutes for another's risk, it must be said that the praetor permits all of them to conduct it.
§26.7.3.9Item si diuidi inter se tutelam uelint tutores, audiendi sunt, ut distribuatur inter eos administratio
Likewise, if the tutors wish the tutelage to be divided among themselves, they are to be heard, so that the administration is distributed among them.

Notes

  1. 26.7.3.1meritoque parentis statur uoluntati — The impersonal passive 'statur' of the verb 'stare' is used with the dative 'uoluntati', meaning literally 'it is stood by the will' or 'adherence is given to the will'. It concisely describes the legal practice of respecting the parent's designation.
  2. 26.7.3.2excussis prius facultatibus eius qui gesserit — An ablative absolute construction with 'excussis', the perfect passive participle of 'excutere' (to shake out, examine, or discuss/exhaust a debtor's assets). It means 'the resources of the one who administered having been first discussed', indicating that the honorary tutors' liability is secondary and subsidiary.
  3. 26.7.3.2suspectum eum non fecerunt — The phrase 'suspectum facere' (to make suspected) is a technical legal expression referring to bringing the action or accusation of a suspected tutor (accusatio suspecti tutoris) for removal. It implies a failure to initiate legal proceedings to remove a co-tutor who is misbehaving.
  4. 26.7.3.6praetori curae fuisse — A classic double dative construction combining the dative of person praetori (to the praetor) and the dative of purpose or effect curae (for a care/concern). It emphasizes that preventing multiple administration was a major priority for the praetor.
  5. 26.7.3.8succedanei esse alieni periculi — The adjective 'succedaneus' (acting as a substitute or taking the place of) governs the genitive 'alieni periculi' (of another's risk/liability). It describes the tutors' refusal to stand as guarantors or secondarily liable parties for financial losses caused by a co-tutor they do not trust.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §26.7.3.pr-26.7.3.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:26.7.3.pr-26.7.3.9

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