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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.8.17.pr

Security for Lawsuit as Condition for Peculium Delivery

Passage 5106 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A ruling that if a testator who bequeathed a peculium accepted a lawsuit regarding it and then died, the peculium is not to be delivered to the legatee unless security is provided to the heir for the pending suit.

[Iauolenus libro secundo ex Cassio. ] §33.8.17.prQui peculium serui legauerat, iudicium eo nomine acceperat, deinde decesserat.
[Iavolenus, From Cassius, Book 2.] A man who had bequeathed the peculium of a slave had accepted a suit on that account, and then died.
placuit non aliter peculium ex causa legati praestari, quam si de accepto iudicio heredi caueretur.
It was held that the peculium should not otherwise be delivered on account of the legacy than if security were given to the heir regarding the accepted suit.

Notes

  1. §33.8.17.priudicium ... acceperat — The phrase 'iudicium accipere' is a technical term in Roman civil procedure (formulary system) meaning 'to accept a suit' or 'to submit to joinder of issue (litis contestatio)'. Here, it indicates that the testator, during his lifetime, became a party to a lawsuit concerning the peculium or the slave.
  2. §33.8.17.prnon aliter ... quam si ... caueretur — The construction 'non aliter ... quam si' expresses a conditional restriction, meaning 'not otherwise ... than if' (i.e., 'only if'). The subjunctive 'caueretur' is an impersonal passive of 'cauere' (to give security/guarantee), referring to the legatee providing security (cautio) to the heir (heredi) against any liabilities arising from the pending suit ('accepto iudicio') which the heir must assume.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.8.17.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.8.17.pr

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