Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.7.6.pr-29.7.6.4

Limits, Informal Nature, and Priority of Later Codicils

Passage 4582 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Marcianus discusses the invalidity of adding conditions or substituting heirs directly via codicils, the lack of formal requirements like autograph writing, the principle that later acts override previous restrictions, and the invalidity of legacies made to deceased persons.

[MARCIANUS libro septimo institutionum. ] §29.7.6.prDiui Seuerus et Antoninus rescripserunt nihil egisse matrem, quae, cum pure liberos suos heredes instituerit, condicionem emancipationis codicillis adiecit, quia neque condicionem heredi instituto codicillis adicere neque substituere directo potest.
[MARCIANUS, in his seventh book of Institutes.] The Divine Severus and Antoninus wrote in a rescript that a mother had done nothing of legal effect, who, although she had appointed her children as heirs unconditionally, added a condition of emancipation by codicils, because one can neither add a condition to an appointed heir by codicils nor substitute an heir directly.
§29.7.6.1Codicillos et plures quis facere potest et ipsius manu neque scribi neque signari necesse est.
Anyone can make even several codicils, and it is not necessary that they be either written or signed by his own hand.
§29.7.6.2Licet in confirmatione codicillorum pater familias adiecerit, ut non alias ualere uelit quam sua manu signatos et subscriptos, tamen ualent facti ab eo codicilli, licet neque ab eo signati neque manu eius scripti fuerint: nam ea quae postea geruntur prioribus derogant.
Even though in the confirmation of codicils a father of a family added that he did not wish them to be valid otherwise than if they were signed and subscribed by his own hand, nevertheless codicils made by him are valid, even if they have been neither signed by him nor written by his hand; for those things which are done later derogate from the prior ones.
§29.7.6.3Codicillos is demum facere potest, qui et testamentum facere potest.
Only he can make codicils who can also make a will.
§29.7.6.4Si post testamentum factum mortuo codicillis quis legauerit licet testamento confirmatis, pro non scripto legatum fit.
If, after a will has been made, anyone bequeathes anything by codicils to a deceased person, even if the codicils are confirmed by the will, the legacy is treated as not written.

Notes

  1. §29.7.6.prnihil egisse matrem — An accusative (matrem) with infinitive (egisse) construction, acting as the object of rescripserunt. In Roman law, the phrase nihil agere is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to produce no legal effect' or 'to act in vain'.
  2. §29.7.6.prpure — An adverb meaning 'purely' or 'unconditionally', indicating that the heirs were appointed without any conditions or time limits.
  3. §29.7.6.2non alias ualere uelit quam — The expression non alias... quam... is a restrictive formula meaning 'he does not wish them to be valid otherwise than if... (i.e., only if...)'. uelit is the subjunctive within the ut-clause.
  4. §29.7.6.2nam ea quae postea geruntur prioribus derogant — A sentence expressing a fundamental interpretive principle in Roman law: subsequent acts/declarations of will derogate from (modify or repeal) prior ones. derogant governs the dative (prioribus).
  5. §29.7.6.4mortuo... quis legauerit licet testamento confirmatis — mortuo is the dative complement of legauerit ('to a deceased person'). licet acts as a concessive conjunction ('although', 'even if') construed with the dative/ablative adjectival participle confirmatis (agreeing with codicillis). It states that a legacy to a deceased person is void, even if the codicils containing it were pre-confirmed by the will.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.7.6.pr-29.7.6.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.7.6.pr-29.7.6.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.