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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §31.0.7.pr

Incapacity of One Joint Legatee to Receive Bequest

Passage 4733 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage explains the rule that in a joint legacy, if one of the legatees lacks the legal capacity to take, the other legatee is only entitled to half of the total bequest rather than the whole amount.

[IDEM libro octauo ad Plautium. ] §31.0.7.prSi Titio et ei qui capere non potest decem legata sint, quia duobus heres dare damnatur et unus capere non potest, quinque sola Titio dantur.
[THE SAME, in the eighth book on Plautius.]\n\nIf ten are bequeathed to Titius and to one who cannot take, since the heir is condemned to give to two and one cannot take, only five are given to Titius.

Notes

  1. §31.0.7.prcapere non potest — Meaning 'cannot take' or 'cannot acquire'. In Roman law, this refers to an individual who lacks the legal capacity (capacitas) to acquire a legacy, typically due to restrictions under matrimonial or social status laws (notably the lex Julia et Papia Poppaea) concerning unmarried or childless persons.
  2. §31.0.7.prheres dare damnatur — Meaning 'the heir is condemned to give'. This is a formulaic expression characteristic of a 'legacy by condemnation' (legatum per damnationem), which directly imposes an obligation of performance on the heir in favor of the legatee.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §31.0.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:31.0.7.pr

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