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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.5.20.pr

Finality of Legatee Choice in Alternative Legacy

Passage 5039 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In an alternative legacy, once the legatee has declared which dining-room covers he wishes to take, he cannot change his mind to choose others even before physically taking them, as the ownership transfers immediately upon his declaration.

[LABEO libro secundo posteriorum a Iauoleno epitomatorum. ] §33.5.20.prApud Aufidium libro primo rescriptum est, cum ita legatum est: 'uestimenta quae uolet triclinaria sumito sibique habeto', si is dixisset quae uellet, deinde, antequam ea sumeret, alia se uelle dixisset, mutare uoluntatem eum non posse, ut alia sumeret, quia omne ius legati prima testatione, qua sumere se dixisset, consumpsit, quoniam res continuo eius fit, simul ac si dixerit eam sumere.
[LABEO, Book II of the Posthumous Works epitomized by Javolenus.] In the first book of Aufidius, it is written in response that, when a legacy is left as follows: 'Let him take and have for himself whichever dining-room covers he wishes,' if he has said which ones he wanted, and then, before taking them, has said that he wants others, he cannot change his mind so as to take the others; because by the first declaration, in which he said he would take them, he exhausted the entire right of the legacy, since the thing immediately becomes his as soon as he has said that he takes it.

Notes

  1. §33.5.20.prmutare uoluntatem eum non posse — This accusative with infinitive (Aci) clause functions as the subject (or the main statement in indirect speech) governed by the impersonal passive `rescriptum est` (it is written in response) at the beginning. `eum` refers to the legatee (`is`).
  2. §33.5.20.prsimul ac si dixerit — The conjunctional phrase `simul ac` (as soon as) is here combined with the conditional `si`. It emphasizes that ownership is transferred at the very moment (`simul`) when the condition of the legatee declaring his choice is fulfilled. `dixerit` is a perfect subjunctive (or future perfect indicative).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.5.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.5.20.pr

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