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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.7.10.pr-28.7.10.1

Institution of Heirs Conditional on Codicils

Passage 4330 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the validity of instituting an heir conditional upon codicils, stating that future conditions are generally valid, and that designations referring to past or present facts are not legal "conditions" and are therefore valid even for a son under power.

[ULPIANUS libro octauo disputationum. ] §28.7.10.prInstitutio talis: 'si codicillis Seium heredem scripsero, heres esto' non est inutilis in quouis herede instituto praeter filium: est enim condicionalis institutio.
[ULPIANUS, in the eighth book of Disputations.] An institution such as: 'If I shall have written Seius as heir in codicils, let him be heir' is not invalid in the case of any instituted heir except a son; for it is a conditional institution.
nec uideiur hereditas codicillis data, quod interdictum est, uerum condicionalis est haec institutio, quae testamento data esset.
Nor is the inheritance regarded as given by codicils, which is prohibited, but this institution is conditional, which would have been given by the testament.
proinde et si ita scripserit: 'cuius nomen codicillis scripsero, ille mihi heres esto', pari ratione dicendum erit institutionem ualere nullo iure impediente.
Therefore, even if he should have written thus: 'He whose name I shall have written in codicils, let him be my heir', it must be said by parity of reasoning that the institution is valid, with no law preventing it.
§28.7.10.1Si quem ita institutum ponamus: 'ille, si eum codicillis heredem scripsi, heres esto', ualet institutio etiam in filio qui in potestate est, cum nulla sit condicio, quae in praeteritum confertur uel quae in praesens, ueluti 'si rex Parthorum uiuit', 'si nauis in portu stat'.
If we assume someone to be instituted thus: 'Let him, if I wrote him as heir in codicils, be heir', the institution is valid even in the case of a son who is under power, since that which is referred to the past or to the present is no condition, as for example, 'if the king of the Parthians is alive', 'if the ship is standing in port'.

Notes

  1. §28.7.10.prquae testamento data esset — The subjunctive pluperfect `esset` is used here to indicate the hypothetical or subjective nature of the relative clause, meaning "which would have been given in the testament" (as opposed to the codicil, where it would be invalid).
  2. §28.7.10.1nulla sit condicio, quae in praeteritum confertur uel quae in praesens — While the verb `sit` in the causal `cum` clause is in the subjunctive, the verbs in the relative clauses (`confertur`) are in the indicative. This indicative mood is used to state as an objective, descriptive fact that what is referred to the past or present does not constitute a legal "condition" (which requires a future uncertain event).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.7.10.pr-28.7.10.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.7.10.pr-28.7.10.1

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