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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.5.20.pr

Validity of Legacies to Authorized and Unauthorized Collegia

Passage 5284 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Based on a senatorial decree from the era of the deified Marcus, the text discusses the validity of legacies to collegia, stating that legacies to authorized corporations are valid, whereas those to unauthorized ones are void unless bequeathed to individual members.

[PAULUS libro duodecimo ad Plautium. ] §34.5.20.prCum senatus temporibus diui Marci permiserit collegiis legare, nulla dubitatio est, quod, si corpori cui licet coire legatum sit, debeatur: cui autem non licet si legetur, non ualebit, nisi singulis legetur: hi enim non quasi collegium, sed quasi certi homines admittentur ad legatum.
[PAULUS, from the twelfth book on Plautius.] Since the senate in the times of the deified Marcus permitted bequeathing to collegia, there is no doubt that, if a legacy has been bequeathed to a corporation which is permitted to assemble, it is due; but if it is bequeathed to one which is not permitted to assemble, it will not be valid, unless it is bequeathed to the individual members; for these will be admitted to the legacy not as a collegium, but as specific individuals.

Notes

  1. §34.5.20.prnulla dubitatio est, quod ... debeatur — The noun clause expressing "there is no doubt that..." is introduced by `quod` with the subjunctive (`debeatur`), rather than the `quin` clause more typical of classical prose, representing the content of the undoubted fact in juristic Latin.
  2. §34.5.20.prcui autem non licet — By contrast with the preceding `corpori cui licet coire`, both the antecedent `corpori` and the infinitive `coire` are omitted here, meaning "to a corporation which is not permitted to assemble." The relative pronoun `cui` (dative) logically functions as the recipient of the passive verb within the conditional clause `si legetur`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.5.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.5.20.pr

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