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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.5.6.pr

Lapse of Choice Period and Legatee Actions by Heir

Passage 5025 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the praetor's establishment of a deadline for choosing bequeathed slaves to prevent obstruction of the heir's sale, and details whether the legatee's action is denied after the deadline depending on the heir's subsequent actions (retention, manumission, or sale).

[POMPONIUS libro sexto ad Sabinum. ] §33.5.6.prMancipiorum electio legata est.
[POMPONIUS, On Sabinus, Book VI] A choice of slaves has been bequeathed.
ne uenditio, quandoque eligente legatario, interpelletur, decernere debet praetor, nisi intra tempus ab ipso praefinitum elegisset, actionem legatorum ei non competere.
Lest a sale should be obstructed by the legatee choosing at some time or other, the praetor ought to decree that, unless he has made his choice within the time prescribed by the praetor himself, the action for legacies does not lie for him.
quid ergo si die praeterito, sed antequam uenderet heres, uindicare legatarius uelit? quia non est damnum subiturus heres, propter quod decernere praetor id solet.
What then if, after the day has passed but before the heir sells, the legatee wishes to claim them? Because the heir is not going to suffer any loss, which is the reason why the praetor is accustomed to make that decree.
et quid si die praeterito, quem finierit praetor, heres aliquos ex seruis uel omnes manumiserit? nonne praetor eorum tuebitur libertatem? ergo totiens actio deneganda non est, si omnia in integro sint.
And what if, after the day prescribed by the praetor has passed, the heir has manumitted some or all of the slaves? Will not the praetor protect their freedom? Therefore, in all such cases, the action must not be denied if everything remains unaltered.
idem est et si pignori aliquos ex his seruis heres dederit post diem uel uen dididerit.
The same rule applies if, after the day, the heir has given some of these slaves in pledge or has sold them.

Notes

  1. §33.5.6.prquandoque eligente legatario — Ablative absolute with the adverb quandoque (at some time or other, whenever). It expresses the inconvenience (uncertainty) caused to the heir by the legatee's indefinite timing of the choice.
  2. §33.5.6.prdecernere debet praetor, nisi ... elegisset, actionem legatorum ei non competere — An accusative with infinitive clause (actionem ... non competere) serving as the object of decernere, within which the conditional clause (nisi ... elegisset) is embedded. Elegisset is in the subjunctive pluperfect, representing a future-perfect (or pluperfect) from a past perspective in indirect speech.
  3. §33.5.6.prquia non est damnum subiturus heres, propter quod decernere praetor id solet — The antecedent of propter quod is damnum. The relative pronoun quod is the object of the preposition propter. This clause indicates that the original purpose of the praetor's decree (to prevent loss to the heir) is not undermined as long as the heir has not yet actually disposed of the property.
  4. §33.5.6.pridem est — 'The same rule applies' means that if the heir disposes of the slaves (by pledge or sale) after the deadline, the heir's disposal is prioritized just as in the preceding case of manumission, and the legatee's (delayed) action will be denied (deneganda est).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.5.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.5.6.pr

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