Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.3.10.pr

Liability of Sureties when Condition Occurs after Heir Dies

Passage 5683 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Sabinus states that sureties remain liable if the heir died after providing security for a conditional legacy, and the condition was fulfilled before his own inheritance was entered upon.

[POMPONIUS libro nicensimo sexto ad Sabinum. ] §36.3.10.prSi a te herede legatum mihi sit sub condicione tuque, postquam adieris hereditatem, satisdederis legatorum et post mortem tuam ante aditam tuam hereditatem condicio legati extiterit, Sabinus ait fideiussores mihi teneri, quia omnimodo dari oportet legatum et in rem esset concepta stipulatio.
[POMPONIUS in the twenty-sixth book on Sabinus.] If a legacy is left to me by you as heir under a condition, and you, after having entered upon the inheritance, have given security for the legacies, and after your death, before your inheritance is entered upon, the condition of the legacy is fulfilled, Sabinus says that the sureties are liable to me, because the legacy must be paid in any event, and the stipulation was formulated in rem.

Notes

  1. 36.3.10.prante aditam tuam hereditatem — Meaning 'before your inheritance is entered upon'. This is an example of the ab urbe condita construction, where the perfect passive participle aditam modifying tuam hereditatem expresses the action itself. 'Your inheritance' refers to the estate left by you, and the subject of entering (adire) is your subsequent heir.
  2. 36.3.10.prin rem esset concepta — Meaning 'formulated in rem (impersonally)'. This explains that the stipulation (stipulatio) for security was framed not around the personal action of a specific heir, but around the objective performance ('that it be paid'). Therefore, the sureties' liability does not expire upon the heir's death. The subjunctive esset is due to the subordinate clause of reason being in indirect discourse introduced by ait.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.3.10.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.3.10.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.