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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.1.79.pr-35.1.79.4

Distinction of Terms and Conditions and Scope of Mucian Caution

Passage 5410 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It defines the distinction between conditions and terms based on the certainty of death, the scope and effects of the Muciana security (especially regarding negative conditions on usufruct), and the invalidity of legacies written in fraud of the law to prevent marriage.

[IDEM libro primo definitionum. ] §35.1.79.pr'Heres meus, cum morietur Titius, centum ei dato'. purum legatum est, quia non condicione, sed mora suspenditur: non potest enim condicio non exsistere. §35.1.79.1'Heres meus, cum ipse morietur, centum Titio dato'. legatum sub condicione relictum est: quamuis enim heredem moriturum certum sit, tamen incertum est, an legatario uiuo.
[THE SAME in the first book of Definitions.] "Let my heir give Titius a hundred when Titius dies." This is an unconditional legacy, because it is suspended not by a condition but by a delay; for the event cannot fail to occur. "Let my heir, when he himself dies, give Titius a hundred." This legacy is left under a condition; for although it is certain that the heir will die, yet it is uncertain whether this will occur while the legatee is alive.
dies legati non cedit et non est certum ad eum legatum peruenturum. §35.1.79.2Qui post Mucianam cautionem interpositam legatum accepit, si contra cautionem aliquid fecerit, stipulatione commissa etiam fructus heredi restituet: hoc enim legatarius et in exordio cauere cogitur. §35.1.79.3Quamuis usus fructus, cum morietur legatarius, inutiliter legetur, tamen cautionis Mucianae remedium usu fructu quoque sub condicionem alicuius non faciendi legato locum habet. §35.1.79.4Quod in fraudem legis ad impediendas nuptias scriptum est, nullam uim habet, ueluti: 'Titio patri centum, si filia, quam habet is in potestate, non nubserit, heres dato' uel: 'filio familias, si pater eius uxorem non duxerit, heres dato'.
The right to the legacy does not vest, and it is not certain that the legacy will reach him. A person who has received a legacy after furnishing the Muciana security, if he does anything contrary to the security, shall, upon the forfeiture of the stipulation, also restore the fruits to the heir; for the legatee is compelled to secure this even in the beginning. Although a usufruct to take effect when the legatee dies is invalidly bequeathed, nevertheless the remedy of the Muciana security also has place in a bequest of usufruct under a condition of not doing something. Whatever is written in fraud of the law for the purpose of preventing marriage has no force, for example: "Let my heir give Titius, the father, a hundred if his daughter, whom he has in his power, does not marry," or: "Let my heir give a filius familias a hundred if his father does not take a wife."

Notes

  1. §35.1.79.1an legatario uiuo — The conjunction `an` introducing an indirect question is followed by the ablative absolute `legatario uiuo` ("while the legatee is alive"), with the verb (such as `heres moriatur`) omitted.
  2. §35.1.79.2stipulatione commissa — Ablative absolute meaning "the stipulation having been committed (forfeited/triggered)." In Roman law, `stipulatio committitur` signifies that the condition of a security stipulation (here, the violation of the negative condition) has been fulfilled, thereby activating the obligation or penalty.
  3. §35.1.79.3inutiliter legetur — A usufruct (`usus fructus`) is a personal right that terminates upon the death of the holder. Therefore, a usufruct bequeathed to take effect "when the legatee dies" would expire at the very moment it begins, and is thus said to be "invalidly bequeathed" (`inutiliter legetur`).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.1.79.pr-35.1.79.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.1.79.pr-35.1.79.4

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