Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.11.12.pr

Possession of Goods and Identification of Heir and Share

Passage 5844 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses the requirements for an appointed heir to accept possession of the goods, emphasizing the need for identification and a discoverable share, and explains how references to prior wills or codicils affect the validity and conditional nature of the appointment.

[PAULUS libro septimo quaestionum. ] §37.11.12.prUt scriptus heres adgnoscere possit bonorum possessionem, exigendum puto, ut et demonstratus sit propria demonstratione et portio adscripta ei inueniri possit, licet sine parte institutus sit: nam qui sine parte heres institutus est, uacantem portionem uel alium assem occupat.

[PAULUS, in the seventh book of Questions.] In order for an appointed heir to be able to accept possession of the goods, I think it must be required both that he is identified by a specific designation and that the share assigned to him can be found, even though he was instituted without a specific share; for he who is instituted heir without a share occupies a vacant share or another whole estate.

quod si ita heres scriptus sit, ut interdum excludatur a testamento, eo quod non inuenitur portio, ex qua institutus est, nec bonorum possessionem petere potest.

But if he is so appointed heir that he is sometimes excluded from the will on the ground that the share from which he was instituted is not found, he cannot claim possession of the goods either.

id euenit, si quis ita heredem instituat: 'Titius quanta ex parte priore testamento eum heredem scriptum habeo, heres esto' uel 'quanta ex parte codicillis scriptum eum habeo, heres esto', sic scriptus non inueniatur.

This happens if anyone institutes an heir as follows, and he is not found to be so appointed: 'Let Titius be heir to the same extent as I have him appointed heir in my prior will' or 'let him be heir to the same extent as I have him appointed in the codicils'.

quod si ita scripsero: 'Titius, si eum priore testamento ex semisse scriptum heredem habeo' uel 'si eum codicillis ex semisse heredem scripsero, ex semisse heres esto', tunc accipiet bonorum possessionem qualsi sub condicione heres scriptus.

But if I write as follows: 'Let Titius be heir to a half share, if I have him appointed heir to a half share in my prior will' or 'if I shall have written him heir to a half share in the codicils, let him be heir to a half share', then he will receive possession of the goods as an heir appointed under a condition.

Notes

37.11.12.prexigendum puto, ut et demonstratus sit propria demonstratione et portio adscripta ei inueniri possit, licet sine parte institutus sit — The gerundive "exigendum [esse]" functions impersonally in an accusative-and-infinitival construction governed by "puto", with the "ut" clause supplying its subject. The correlative "et... et..." indicates that both conditions must be met: the heir must be identified by a specific designation, and the share assigned to him must be found.
37.11.12.prquanta ex parte priore testamento eum heredem scriptum habeo — This clause is introduced by the relative adjective "quanta" modifying "parte". The antecedent is incorporated into the relative clause. Instead of specifying a precise share directly, it defines it by reference to a past fact: "to whatever extent (share) I have him appointed."
37.11.12.prquasi sub condicione heres scriptus — The phrase indicates that the formula using "si..." (if...) is legally treated as an appointment under a condition (sub condicione), unlike the earlier "quanta ex parte..." formula, which is a mere reference to a past writing rather than a true conditional clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.11.12.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.11.12.pr

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