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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.4.15.pr

Heir's Duty Regarding Pledged Property in Dowry Legacies

Passage 5017 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius explains that while an heir is generally obligated to free pledged property left as a legacy, this duty does not apply when pledged property received as a dowry is pre-bequeathed back, unless the testator has specifically ordered otherwise.

[GAIUS libro secundo de legatis ad edictum praetoris. ] §33.4.15.prLicet placeat pigneratas res uel in publicum obligatas heredem, qui dare iussus est, liberare debere, tamen si is qui tales res in dotem accepit dotem praelegauerit, non cogetur heres liberare eas, nisi aliud specialiter testator dixerit.
[GAIUS, from the second book on Legacies to the Edict of the Praetor.] Although it is accepted that the heir who has been ordered to give property that is pledged or bound to the public treasury must free it, nevertheless, if he who received such property as a dowry has pre-bequeathed the dowry, the heir will not be compelled to free it, unless the testator has specifically stated otherwise.

Notes

  1. §33.4.15.prlicet placeat — The concessive conjunction `licet` governs the subjunctive (here the impersonal verb `placeat`), meaning 'although'. The accusative and infinitive (ACI) clause `heredem ... liberare debere` acts as the subject of `placeat`.
  2. §33.4.15.prliberare — Meaning 'to free' or 'to release'. When applied to property pledged as security (`pigneratas res uel in publicum obligatas`), it specifically means 'to release from encumbrance' or 'to redeem' by paying off the debt.
  3. §33.4.15.prpraelegauerit — The verb `praelegare` (to pre-bequeath) is a Roman legal term referring to the practice of bequeathing a specific object to someone (often a co-heir) preferentially, to be taken out of the estate before general partition. Here, it refers to the husband bequeathing the dowry back to the wife.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.4.15.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.4.15.pr

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