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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.1.89.pr

Effects of Successive Unconditional and Conditional Legacies

Passage 5420 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage clarifies the validity and legal effects when an unconditional legacy and a conditional legacy of the same thing are made in succession, determining whether the legacy is due immediately or remains conditional based on the time interval, order of writing, and explicit references to the prior legacy.

[UALENS libro primo fideicommissorum. ] §35.1.89.prnon ad ea dumtaxat pertinet, quae saepius sub diuersis condicionibus, sed etiam quae primo pure, deinde sub condicione dantur.
This applies not only to those things which are given repeatedly under different conditions, but also to those which are given first unconditionally, and then under a condition.
itaque quod heres pure dare iussus est quodue pure legatum est, cum id ex interuallo sub condicione legatum est, posterius ualet: si prius sub condicione, deinde pure legatum est, praesens debetur.
Therefore, when that which the heir was ordered to give unconditionally, or which was unconditionally bequeathed, is bequeathed under a condition after an interval of time, the subsequent provision is valid; but if it was bequeathed first under a condition, and then unconditionally, it is due immediately.
quod si pure legatum ex continenti heres sub condicione damnatus aut rogatus est dare, perinde est, ac si iuncta subiecta scriptura idem legatum esset, uel ut praesens uindicari, si hoc uoluerit legatarius, uel, cum condicio exstiterit, ab herede peti possit, nisi commemoratione superioris legati posterius scriptum fuerit, uelut: 'Stichum, quem illi legaui, heres meus ei, si illud factum erit, dato': tunc enim reuocandi animo praesens legatum et sub condicione dandi ita scribsisse uidebitur: et si ante condicionem rem uindicet, doli exceptio locum habere poterit.
If, however, immediately after an unconditional legacy, the heir is condemned or requested to give the same thing under a condition, it is just as if the same legacy had been made in a joined and subjoined writing, so that it can either be claimed as immediately due, if the legatee so wishes, or be demanded from the heir when the condition has been fulfilled, unless the subsequent provision was written with a mention of the prior legacy, such as: "Stichus, whom I bequeathed to him, my heir shall give to him if such-and-such a thing happens." For in this case, the testator will be deemed to have written thus with the intention of revoking the immediate legacy and of giving it under a condition; and if the legatee should claim the property before the fulfillment of the condition, the plea of fraud will be available.

Notes

  1. 35.1.89.prnon ad ea dumtaxat pertinet — The subject of the main verb `pertinet` (applies to, relates to) is the scope of the legal rule or interpretation implied from the preceding context. The correlative structure `non... dumtaxat..., sed etiam` (not only... but also) indicates that the application extends not just to repeated bequests under different conditions, but also to bequests made first unconditionally and then conditionally.
  2. 35.1.89.prperinde est, ac si iuncta subiecta scriptura — `perinde est, ac si` expresses a counterfactual comparison meaning "it is just as if," and is construed with the subjunctive pluperfect `legatum esset`. The phrase `iuncta subiecta scriptura` is an ablative of means or manner, meaning "by a joined and subjoined writing" (i.e., written consecutively in the same document).
  3. 35.1.89.pruel ut praesens uindicari ... uel ... peti possit — The correlative conjunctions `uel... uel...` present two alternative remedies available to the legatee: either to vindicate the property immediately (`uindicari`) or to demand it from the heir after the fulfillment of the condition (`peti`). The `ut... possit` clause is a clause of result, showing the legal consequence arising from the fiction introduced by `perinde est, ac si...`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.1.89.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.1.89.pr

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