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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.2.69.pr

Succession Order of Substitute Heirs and Praetorian Relief

Passage 4472 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the order of succession between the instituted heir and the substitute, and the praetorian remedies involving the prescribing of deadlines and the denial of actions.

[ULPIANUS libro sexagesimo ad edictum. ] §29.2.69.prQuamdiu institutus admitti potest, substituto locus non est nec ante succedere potest quam excluso herede instituto.
[ULPIANUS, from the sixtieth book on the Edict.] As long as the instituted heir can be admitted, there is no place for the substitute, nor can he succeed before the instituted heir has been excluded.
eueniet igitur, ut necessarium sit remedium praetoris et circa denegandas primo actiones et circa praestituendum tempus substituto, quia intra diem primo praestitutum neque adire hereditatem potest neque pro herede gerere.
It will therefore happen that the remedy of the praetor is necessary both regarding the denial of actions to the first and regarding the prescribing of a time for the substitute, because within the time first prescribed, the substitute can neither enter upon the inheritance nor act as heir.
is autem, qui tertio gradu scriptus est, si primo deliberante secundus decedat, ipse potest succedere.
However, he who has been written in the third degree can himself succeed if, while the first is deliberating, the second dies.
ergo exspectamus in singulis, ut prius eis deferatur hereditas: tunc deinde, posteaquam delata est, exspectamus diem praestitutum, intra quem diem nisi aut adeat aut pro herede gerat, denegamus ei actiones.
Therefore, we wait in each case for the inheritance to be offered to them first; then next, after it has been offered, we wait for the prescribed day, within which day, unless he either enters upon it or acts as heir, we deny him actions.

Notes

  1. §29.2.69.prsubstituto — Refers to the substitute heir. It is in the dative case, functioning as a dative of possession with 'locus non est' ('there is no place for the substitute').
  2. §29.2.69.prdenegandas primo actiones — A gerundive construction governed by 'circa', where 'denegandas' agrees with 'actiones'. 'primo' is not the adverb 'at first', but the dative of a pronominal noun referring to the first (instituted) heir ('to the first'), modifying 'denegandas'. This nominal interpretation is supported by the contrast with 'substituto' ('for the substitute') in the following phrase.
  3. §29.2.69.prpro herede gerere — A legal idiom in Roman law referring to the tacit acceptance of an inheritance (gestio pro herede), translated as 'to act as heir'. The direct object of 'gerere' is omitted, implying the management of estate affairs in the capacity of an heir.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.2.69.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.2.69.pr

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