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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.5.90.pr

Legacy and Institution of Common Slaves When a Co-Owner Inherits

Passage 4269 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains the conditions under which a legacy or appointment as heir for a common slave is valid when their co-owner is designated as the sole heir, distinguishing between unconditional and conditional situations.

[PAULUS libro secundo manualium. ] §28.5.90.prSi socius heres institutus sit ex asse et seruo communi legetur pure sine libertate, hoc legatum non constitit.
[PAULUS, in the second book of Manuals.] If a co-owner is appointed heir to the whole estate, and a legacy is left to a common slave unconditionally and without freedom, this legacy is not valid.
plane sub condicione ei utiliter et sine libertate legabitur, quoniam et proprio seruo ab herede recte sub condicione legatur.
Clearly, under a condition, a legacy will be validly left to him even without freedom, since a legacy is also properly left to one's own slave by an heir under a condition.
quare etiam heres institui sine libertate ut alienus socio herede scripto poterit, quia et proprius cum domino heres institui poterit.
Therefore, he can also be appointed heir without freedom as a stranger, when his co-owner is written as heir, because even one's own slave can be appointed heir together with his master.

Notes

  1. 28.5.90.prnon constitit — The perfect tense of consisto (to stand, be valid). In legal texts, the perfect tense (gnomic perfect) is often used to describe established rules or principles, meaning "does not stand" or "is not valid" as a general rule.
  2. 28.5.90.prsocio herede scripto — An ablative absolute construction comprising the noun socius, heredes, and the participle scriptus. It expresses the conditional circumstance "with the co-owner having been written (designated) as heir."
  3. 28.5.90.prproprius cum domino — The noun seruus is understood after proprius. The phrase cum domino means "together with his master (appointed as heir)," indicating that it is legally possible for one's own slave to be designated as heir alongside their owner.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.5.90.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.5.90.pr

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