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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.1.78.pr

Conversion of Codicillary Substitution into a Trust

Passage 5632 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Scaevola rules on a case where a father substituted heirs to his impuberate son by codicil; although such civil-law substitution is invalid, a benign interpretation treats it as a valid trust, binding the mother who inherited the son's estate.

[IDEM libro nono decimo digestorum. ] §36.1.78.prScaeuola respondit, si pater filium suum impuberem ex asse scripserit heredem eique codicillis substituerit, deinde filius impubes decesserit, licet substitutio inutilis sit, quia codicillis hereditas neque dari neque adimi potest, tamen benigna interpretatione placet, ut mater, quae ab intestato pupillo successit, substitutis fideicommisso obligetur: quod si inuicem fuerunt substituti, et in fideicommisso substitutionem ualere: unoque corum mortuo qui supersunt totum accipiunt.
[THE SAME, Digest, Book 19] Scaevola answered that if a father has appointed his impuberate son as his sole heir and has substituted another to him by codicil, and then the impuberate son has died, even though the substitution is invalid because an inheritance can neither be given nor taken away by codicil, nevertheless, by a benign interpretation, it is accepted that the mother, who succeeded to the pupillus ab intestato, is bound by a trust to the substitutes; and if they were substituted to each other, the substitution is valid also in the trust, and upon the death of one of them, those who survive receive the whole.

Notes

  1. §36.1.78.prcodicillis — A codicil (codicilli), unlike a formal testament, lacks the legal power under civil law to directly institute (dare) or disinherit (adimere) an heir, which is why a substitution made through it is technically invalid.
  2. §36.1.78.prbenigna interpretatione placet, ut mater, quae ab intestato pupillo successit, substitutis fideicommisso obligetur — By applying a "benign interpretation" (benigna interpretatio), the legally invalid designation of substitution is converted into a valid trust (fideicommissum) to deliver the property, thereby binding the mother who succeeded to the pupillus ab intestato to carry out the deceased's intent.
  3. §36.1.78.pret in fideicommisso substitutionem ualere — The infinitive `valere` is an accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on `Scaeuola respondit` (or `placet`). It indicates that the mechanism of mutual substitution (substitutio), which is strictly a civil law device, is also recognized as valid (valere) and applicable within the context of a trust (fideicommissum).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.1.78.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.1.78.pr

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