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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.2.13.pr

Fulfillment of Conditions During a Legatee's Lifetime

Passage 5654 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius explains that even in legacies with alternative conditions or events certain to happen, the right of the legacy does not pass to the legatee's heir unless the specific condition is fulfilled or the term arrives during the lifetime of the legatee.

[POMPONIUS libro sexto ad Sabinum. ] §36.2.13.prHuiusmodi legatum: 'siue illud factum fuerit siue non fuerit, illi do lego', ad heredem non transit, nisi alter casus uiuo legatario exstiterit, quoniam causa, ex qua debeatur, praecedere semper debet.
[POMPONIUS in the sixth book on Sabinus.] A legacy of this kind: 'whether that be done or not be done, I give and bequeath to him', does not pass to the heir, unless one of the two events has occurred during the lifetime of the legatee, since the ground from which it becomes due must always precede.
nec, quia certum est alterutrum futurum, omnimodo debebitur: nam tale legatum, 'cum morietur, heres dato', certum est debitum iri et tamen ad heredem legatarii non transit, si uiuo herede decedat.
Nor, because it is certain that one or the other will happen, will it be due unconditionally: for such a legacy as 'when my heir dies, let my heir give it' is certain to become due, and yet it does not pass to the heir of the legatee if the legatee dies while the heir is still alive.

Notes

  1. §36.2.13.pruiuo legatario — Ablative absolute meaning 'while the legatee is alive' (with legatario as the subject). It indicates that the legatee must be alive at the moment when one of the alternative events occurs.
  2. §36.2.13.prcum morietur, heres dato — The implied subject of morietur is heres (the heir). Although the death of the heir is an event certain to happen in the future, if the legatee dies (implied subject of decedat is legatarius) while the heir is still alive, the right of legacy does not pass to the legatee's heir.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.2.13.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.2.13.pr

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