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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.8.5.pr-28.8.5.1

Information Disclosure and Asset Disposal During Deliberation

Passage 4353 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Based on the opinion of Aristo, this section discusses the necessity of providing information to the instituted heir, and details the rules for managing and disposing of deteriorating or costly estate assets under the praetor's authority during the period of deliberation.

[IDEM libro septuagesimo ad edictum. ] §28.8.5.prAristo scribit non solum creditoribus, sed et heredi instituto praetorem subuenire debere hisque copiam instrumentorum inspiciendorum facere, ut perinde instruere se possint, expediet nec ne agnoscere hereditatem.
[THE SAME, in the seventieth book on the Edict.] Aristo writes that the praetor ought to relieve not only creditors but also the instituted heir, and to give them the opportunity of inspecting the documents, so that they may thereby inform themselves whether or not it is expedient to accept the inheritance.
§28.8.5.1Si maior sit hereditas et deliberat heres et res sunt in hereditate, quae ex tractu temporis deteriores fiunt, adito praetore potest is qui deliberat sine praeiudicio eas iustis pretiis uendere: qui possit etiam ea, quae nimium sumptuosa sint, ueluti iumenta aut uenalicia, item ea quae mora deteriora fiant, uendere, quique praeterea curaturus sit, ut aes alienum quod sub poena uel sub pretiosis pignoribus debeatur, soluatur.
If the inheritance is large and the heir is deliberating, and there are things in the inheritance which deteriorate by the passage of time, the person who is deliberating can, after applying to the praetor, sell them at fair prices without prejudice; and he can also sell those things which are too expensive to keep, such as beasts of burden or slaves for sale, and likewise those which deteriorate by delay, and he must furthermore take care that debt which is owed under a penalty or under valuable pledges is paid.

Notes

  1. §28.8.5.prinstruere se possint, expediet nec ne agnoscere — The phrase instruere se means "to inform themselves" or "to prepare themselves," and it takes the following indirect question clause expediet nec ne agnoscere hereditatem ("whether or not it is expedient to accept the inheritance") as its object of inquiry. expediet is the future active indicative third-person singular of expedio.
  2. §28.8.5.1adito praetore — An ablative absolute construction utilizing the perfect passive participle of adeo ("having approached the praetor"), functioning here to indicate a necessary legal procedure or permission before making a sale.
  3. §28.8.5.1sine praeiudicio — Meaning "without prejudice." It implies that the act of disposing of the property during the period of deliberation will not cause the legal disadvantage of being deemed a tacit acceptance of the inheritance (pro herede gerere).
  4. §28.8.5.1quique praeterea curaturus sit — A relative clause continuing from the subject is qui deliberat, where quique is composed of the relative pronoun qui and the conjunction -que. The periphrastic subjunctive curaturus sit (future active participle + sit) expresses a duty or expectation laid upon the deliberating heir.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.8.5.pr-28.8.5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.8.5.pr-28.8.5.1

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