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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §30.1.16.pr-30.1.16.2

Absence of Joint Legatees and Disclaiming Heirs' Burdens

Passage 4612 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius discusses the scope of legacy obligations and claims in joint legacies when one of the legatees does not exist, or when one of the heirs charged with the legacy fails to enter upon the inheritance.

[POMPONIUS libro quinto ad Sabinum. ] §30.1.16.prSi duobus res coniunctim legata sit, quamuis alter in rerum natura non fuerit, alteri solam partem deberi puto uerum esse.
[POMPONIUS, Book 5 on Sabinus.] If a thing is bequeathed jointly to two persons, even if one of them was not in existence, I think it is true that only a share is owed to the other.
§30.1.16.1Heres adiecto ei nomine cuiusdam, qui heres non sit, dare damnatus totum legatum debet: nam et si duos ex heredibus suis nominatim quis damnasset et alter hereditatem non adisset, qui adisset totum deberet, si pars eius qui non adisset ad eum qui adisset peruenerit.
An heir who is condemned to give [a legacy], with the name of someone who is not an heir added to him, must owe the whole legacy: for even if someone had condemned two of his heirs by name and one of them did not enter upon the inheritance, the one who entered would owe the whole, if the share of the one who did not enter should come to the one who did enter.
§30.1.16.2Si Titio et postumis legatum sit, non nato postumo totum Titius uindicabit.
If a legacy is bequeathed to Titius and posthumous children, and the posthumous child is not born, Titius will claim the whole.
sed et si testator Titio et postumis uiriles partes dari uoluisset uel etiam id expressisset, totum legatum Titio debetur non nato postumo.
But even if the testator had wished equal shares to be given to Titius and the posthumous children, or had even expressed this, the whole legacy is owed to Titius if the posthumous child is not born.

Notes

  1. 30.1.16.prin rerum natura — A common legal idiom meaning 'in the nature of things' or 'in existence'. In Roman law, it is frequently used to refer to persons not yet born (such as posthumous children) or things not yet in being.
  2. 30.1.16.1adiecto ei nomine cuiusdam — An ablative absolute construction where the pronoun 'ei' refers to the subject 'heres' (the heir). It describes a situation where the name of a non-heir is added alongside the heir as a party jointly charged with the legacy.
  3. 30.1.16.1dare damnatus — A standard legal phrase in the context of legacies meaning 'condemned (or bound) to give' to the legatee. 'damnatus' is the perfect participle of the verb 'damno' (to condemn, bind by obligation).
  4. 30.1.16.2uiriles partes — Literally 'manly portions,' referring to 'equal shares' or 'per capita shares' distributed equally among co-heirs or co-legatees.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §30.1.16.pr-30.1.16.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:30.1.16.pr-30.1.16.2

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