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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.4.21.pr

Revocation of Legacy Only from the Designated Legatee

Passage 5253 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It lays down the principle that the revocation of a legacy must be directed only at the designated legatee, and cannot be revoked from the father or master when the legacy was given to someone else's son or slave.

[LICINIUS RUFINUS libro quarto regularum. ] §34.4.21.prLegatum nulli alii adimi potest quam cui datum est: quapropter si filio aut seruo alieno legatum fuerit, domino aut patri legatum adimi non potest.
[LICINIUS RUFINUS in the fourth book of Rules.] A legacy cannot be revoked from any other person than the one to whom it was given; wherefore, if a legacy has been bequeathed to someone else's son or slave, the legacy cannot be revoked from the father or the master.

Notes

  1. §34.4.21.prnulli alii ... quam cui — The dative pronominal phrase `nulli alii` is correlated via `quam` with the dative relative pronoun `cui` introducing the clause `cui datum est`.
  2. §34.4.21.prdomino aut patri — This is a dative of separation (used instead of an ablative) depending on the passive infinitive `adimi`. Although the actual proprietary benefit of the legacy accrues to the paterfamilias (the father or master), the formal revocation cannot be legally directed against them because they are not the named legatee in the testament.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.4.21.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.4.21.pr

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