Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §31.0.3.pr

Validity of Legacy Conditioned on Heir's Negative Act

Passage 4729 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text states that a legacy conditioned upon the heir not performing a certain action (ascending to the Capitol) is valid, even though doing or not doing so is entirely within the heir's own power.

[IDEM libro quarto ad Plautium. ] §31.0.3.prSi ita legetur: 'heres dare damnas esto, si in Capitolium non ascenderit', utile legatum est, quamuis in potestate eius sit ascendere uel non ascendere.

[THE SAME, on Plautius, Book 4] If a legacy is bequeathed as follows: 'Let my heir be bound to give, if he does not ascend to the Capitol,' the legacy is valid, although it is within his power to ascend or not to ascend.

Notes

31.0.3.prdamnas esto — This expression with the future imperative esto is the standard formula for a 'legacy by condemnation' (legatum per damnationem) in Roman law. damnas is an indeclinable adjective (or noun) meaning 'bound' or 'condemned,' which takes the infinitive dare to impose a legal obligation on the heir.
31.0.3.prascendere uel non ascendere — These two infinitives function as the subject of the subjunctive verb sit, which has the prepositional phrase in potestate eius as its predicate. This structure indicates that the fulfillment of the condition depends entirely on the heir's free will.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §31.0.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:31.0.3.pr

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