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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.1.49.pr

Payment of Natural Debt to Heir and Transfer to Beneficiary

Passage 5602 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This fragment states that if a natural debt is paid to the heir of the deceased creditor, the payment must be delivered to the beneficiary of the trust inheritance.

[POMPONIUS libro primo uariarum lectionum. ] §36.1.49.prSi heredi eius, cui natura debuerit, aliquis soluerit, ei, cui fideicommissa hereditas relicta sit, id reddendum.
[POMPONIUS, Various Readings, Book 1] If anyone pays the heir of a person to whom he owed a natural debt, that which is paid must be restored to the person to whom the trust inheritance was left.

Notes

  1. §36.1.49.prnatura debuerit — natura is an ablative meaning 'by nature' or 'under natural law.' The subject of debuerit (subjunctive perfect of debere, 'to owe') is understood to be aliquis (the subject of the condition). Thus, it means 'to whom [the payer] owed a natural debt,' referring to a payment made on a natural obligation (naturalis obligatio) which is not civilly enforceable but exists under natural law.
  2. §36.1.49.prid reddendum — id is the nominative subject referring to the thing paid (the implied object of soluerit). reddendum is a gerundive forming a periphrastic conjugation with esse omitted, expressing obligation or necessity ('must be restored' or 'should be delivered').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.1.49.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.1.49.pr

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