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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §3.3.73.pr

Payment and Deposit of Money before Joinder of Issue

Passage 556 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the legal procedure when a defendant is ready to pay before joinder of issue while a procurator is acting, addressing the deposit of money in a temple and the judge's discretion after joinder.

[IDEM libro singulari de officio adsessorum. ] §3.3.73.prSi reus paratus sit ante litem contestatam pecuniam soluere, procuratore agente quid fieri oportet? nam iniquum est cogi eum iudicium accipere.
[THE SAME in the single book on the Office of Assessors.] If the defendant is ready to pay the money before joinder of issue, while a procurator is acting, what ought to be done? For it is unjust for him to be compelled to accept a trial.
propter quod suspectus uideri potest, qui praesente domino non optulit pecuniam? quid si tunc facultatem pecuniae non habuit, numquid cogi debeat iudicium accipere? quid enim si et famosa sit actio? sed hoc constat, ut ante litem contestatam praeses iubeat in aede sacra pecuniam deponi: hoc enim fit et in pupillaribus pecuniis.
On this account, can he appear suspicious, who did not offer the money when the principal was present? What if he did not have the means to pay the money at that time, should he really be compelled to accept a trial? For what if the action also carries infamy? But this is established, that before joinder of issue the governor should order the money to be deposited in a sacred temple; for this is done also in the case of ward's money.
quod si lis contestata est, hoc omne officio iudicis dirimendum est.
But if issue has been joined, all this must be decided by the office of the judge.

Notes

  1. §3.3.73.prprocuratore agente — An ablative absolute with the present participle, indicating the attendant circumstance "while the procurator is acting (or demanding payment)."
  2. §3.3.73.priudicium accipere — A technical legal term meaning to submit to the formal joinder of issue (*litis contestatio*) and accept the jurisdiction of the judge.
  3. §3.3.73.prfamosa ... actio — Refers to an action that results in infamy (*infamia*) upon condemnation (e.g., actions arising from mandate or deposit). It is mentioned because forcing a defendant to undergo such a trial entails a severe disadvantage.
  4. §3.3.73.profficio iudicis — Ablative of means. It indicates that once joinder of issue is accomplished, the matter should be resolved by the discretionary power (*officium*) of the judge rather than strict formal law.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §3.3.73.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:3.3.73.pr

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