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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §30.1.77.pr

Fideicommissum on Deposited Money and the Plea of Fraud

Passage 4673 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses how a trust committed to the good faith of a depositee to pay deposited money becomes effective through the plea of fraud and is deemed due under a rescript of the Divine Pius.

[ULPIANUS libro quinto disputationum. ] §30.1.77.prSi pecunia fuit deposita apud aliquem eiusque fidei commissum, ut eam pecuniam praestet, fideicommissum ex rescripto diui Pii debebitur, quasi uideatur heres rogatus remittere id debitori: nam si conueniatur debitor ab herede, doli exceptione uti potest: quae res utile fideicommissum facit.
[ULPIAN, Book 5 of the Disputations.] If money has been deposited with someone, and a trust has been committed to his good faith that he should pay that money, the trust will be due under a rescript of the Divine Pius, as if the heir were deemed to have been requested to release it to the debtor; for if the debtor is sued by the heir, he can employ the plea of fraud; and this circumstance makes the trust effective.
quod cum ita se habet, ab omni debitore fideicommissum relinqui potest.
Since this is so, a trust can be left by any debtor.

Notes

  1. 30.1.77.preiusque fidei commissum — eius is the genitive referring to "someone" (aliquem) who received the deposit, and fidei is the dative governed by commissum [est] ("committed to his good faith"). The expression fidei committere (to commit to one's good faith) forms the etymological and legal basis of the trust (fideicommissum).
  2. 30.1.77.prquasi uideatur heres rogatus remittere id debitori — quasi uideatur expresses a figurative fiction ("as if it were deemed"). The infinitive remittere is a complementary infinitive after rogatus ("requested, charged with a trust"), constructing a legal situation where the heir (heres) is charged with a trust to release the debt (remittere id) to the debtor (debitori).
  3. 30.1.77.prquod cum ita se habet — quod is a relative pronoun of connection (neuter singular) referring to the factual situation described in the preceding sentence. se habere is a reflexive idiom meaning "to be in a certain state". Although cum (since/as) often takes the subjunctive, the indicative present habet is used here to state an objective fact.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §30.1.77.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:30.1.77.pr

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