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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.7.3.pr

Inapplicability of the Catonian Rule to Inheritances and Certain Legacies

Passage 5298 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinianus states that the Catonian rule (Catoniana regula) does not apply to inheritances or to legacies whose vesting date occurs after the inheritance has been entered upon.

[PAPINIANUS libro quinto decimo quaestionum. ] §34.7.3.prCatoniana regula non pertinet ad hereditates neque ad ea legata, quorum dies non mortis tempore, sed post aditam cedit hereditatem.
[PAPINIANUS, from the Fifteenth Book of Questions.] The Catonian rule does not apply to inheritances nor to those legacies whose vesting date occurs not at the time of death, but after the inheritance has been entered upon.

Notes

  1. §34.7.3.prCatoniana regula — The "Catonian rule" is a fundamental rule of Roman law stating that a legacy which would have been invalid if the testator had died immediately after making the will cannot become valid by any subsequent change of circumstances (D. 34.7.1.pr).
  2. §34.7.3.prdies ... cedit — The legal phrase dies cedit means that the right to a legacy becomes vested (the date on which the right is secured). This is contrasted with dies venit, which is the date when the legacy can actually be demanded.
  3. §34.7.3.prpost aditam ... hereditatem — The preposition post governs the accusative noun hereditatem modified by the perfect passive participle aditam, meaning "after the inheritance has been entered upon (accepted)." This is the classic "ab urbe condita" construction expressing the action/event itself.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.7.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.7.3.pr

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