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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.4.11.pr-36.4.11.1

Priority Between Fideicommissaries and Possessors for Legacy

Passage 5703 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the priority between the recipient of a specific fideicommissum and a person placed in possession for the preservation of another legacy, as well as the protection of a fideicommissary when a personal creditor of the heir obtains possession.

[HERMOGENIANUS libro quarto iuris epitomarum. ] §36.4.11.prSi fideicommissorum uel legatorum seruandorum causa missus in possessionem eam rem teneas, quae mihi per fideicommissum relicta esset, aequius est me eam habere, cui ea ipsa relicta est, quam te, qui alterius fideicommissi nomine ingressus in eam esses.
[HERMOGENIANUS, book 4 of Epitomes of Law] If you, having been placed in possession for the purpose of preserving fideicommissa or legacies, should hold that property which had been left to me by fideicommissum, it is more equitable that I, to whom that very thing was left, should have it, rather than you, who had entered into possession of it under the name of another fideicommissum.
nam et si mihi sub condicione legatum est et tu medio tempore in possessionem eius factus fueris legatorum seruandorum causa, deinde condicio impleta esset, non denegabitur mihi eius rei integra persecutio.
For even if a legacy has been left to me under a condition, and you in the meantime have been placed in possession of it for the purpose of preserving legacies, and then the condition has been fulfilled, a full recovery of that thing will not be denied to me.
sic enim et si statuliberum ex eadem causa possidere coepisset, impleta condicione iustam libertatem eius impedire non potest.
For likewise, even if one had begun to possess a conditionally free slave for the same cause, once the condition is fulfilled, one cannot impede his lawful freedom.
§36.4.11.1Si rei seruandae causa in possessionem missus esset proprius creditor heredis et rei per fideicommissum mihi relictae adeptus fuerit, nihil me per eum laedi oportere conuenit, non magis quam si ab ipso herede eam rem pignori accepisset.
If the personal creditor of the heir had been placed in possession for the purpose of preserving property, and has obtained possession of the thing left to me by fideicommissum, it is agreed that I ought not to be harmed in any way through him, any more than if he had received that thing as a pledge from the heir himself.

Notes

  1. §36.4.11.prme eam habere, cui ea ipsa relicta est, quam te — Accusative with infinitive construction introduced by aequius est (it is more equitable). It sets up a contrast between me and te, functioning as me [eam habere] ... quam te [eam habere] (that I should have it rather than you).
  2. §36.4.11.prstatuliberum — Direct object of possidere. The subject of coepisset (even if one had begun) is omitted but contextually refers to the possessor (such as 'you') who has entered into possession of the assets.
  3. §36.4.11.1rei ... adeptus fuerit — The perfect form adeptus fuerit of the deponent verb adipisci (to obtain) here governs the genitive rei ... relictae as its object, possibly due to attraction or an implied noun like possessionem (possession).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.4.11.pr-36.4.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.4.11.pr-36.4.11.1

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