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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.2.29.pr

Protection of Trust Usufruct Upon Death of Legatee

Passage 4981 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that if a bequeathed usufruct is restored to a beneficiary under a trust, the praetor should intervene to maintain the same legal effect for the beneficiary, despite the civil law rule that the usufruct terminates upon the legatee's death or loss of status.

[GAIUS libro primo fideicommissorum. ] §33.2.29.prSi quis usum fructum legatum sibi alii restituere rogatus sit eumque in fundum induxerit fruendi causa: licet iure ciuili morte et capitis deminutione ex persona legatarii pereat usus fructus, quod huic ipso iure adquisitus est, tamen praetor iurisdictione sua id agere debet, ut idem seruetur, quod futurum esset, si ei, cui ex fideicommisso restitutus esset, legati iure adquisitus fuisset.
[GAIUS, Trust Bequests, Book I.] If anyone has been requested to restore to another a usufruct bequeathed to himself, and has introduced him into the land for the purpose of enjoying it: although by civil law the usufruct terminates upon the death or loss of status of the legatee, because it was acquired by the latter by operation of law, nevertheless the praetor, by virtue of his jurisdiction, ought to ensure that the same state of affairs is preserved as would have existed if it had been acquired by right of legacy by the person to whom it was restored under the trust.

Notes

  1. §33.2.29.preumque — The accusative pronoun eum (with the enclitic -que) refers back to alii (the other person, i.e., the beneficiary of the trust). The phrase 'inducere in fundum' is a legal idiom meaning to put someone in possession of the land.
  2. §33.2.29.prhuic — The dative singular masculine of the demonstrative pronoun hic, referring back to the immediately preceding legatarii (the legatee). It points to the problem that, because the usufruct is formally acquired by the legatee by operation of law, it would legally terminate upon that legatee's death or loss of status under civil law.
  3. §33.2.29.prid agere debet, ut — The expression 'id agere' followed by an 'ut' clause is an idiomatic formulation meaning 'to strive for, to bring it about, or to ensure that...'. Here, it denotes the official duty of the praetor.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.2.29.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.2.29.pr

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