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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.5.1.pr-37.5.1.3

Obligation of Legacies to Close Relatives contrary to Will

Passage 5750 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk explains the equity of the edict which preserves legacies and trusts for certain close relatives even when the will is set aside, and defines the scope of this rule based on family ties and adoptive relations.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragesimo ad edictum. ] §37.5.1.prHic titulus aequitatem quandam habet naturalem et ad aliquid nouam, ut, qui iudicia patris rescindunt per contra tabulas bonorum possessionem, ex iudicio eius quibusdam personis legata et fideicommissa praestarent, hoc est liberis et parentibus, uxori nuruique dotis nomine legatum.
[ULPIANUS in the fortieth book on the Edict.] This title has a certain natural equity and is to some extent novel, namely that those who rescind the judgments of a father through the possession of goods contrary to the will must pay legacies and trusts from his judgment to certain persons, that is, to children and parents, and a legacy in the name of dowry to a wife and a daughter-in-law.
§37.5.1.1Generaliter parentes et liberos praetor excepit nec gradus liberorum parentiumue enumerauit: in infinitum igitur eis praestabitur.
Generally, the praetor excepted parents and children, and did not enumerate the degrees of children or parents; therefore, performance will be made to them to infinity.
sed nec personas prosecutus est, utrum ex uirili sexu an ex feminino descendent.
Nor did he track the persons, whether they descend from the male sex or the female sex.
quisquis igitur ex liberis parentibusque fuerit, ad legati petitionem admittetur, sed ita demum, si iura cognationis sunt inter eos.
Whosoever, therefore, is among the children and parents, will be admitted to the petition of a legacy, but only if the rights of cognation exist between them.
§37.5.1.2Liberos autem etiam eos ad legatorum petitionem admittimus, qui in adoptionem dati sunt uel etiam adoptiui, dummodo maneant liberi.
Moreover, as children we also admit to the petition of legacies those who have been given in adoption, or are even adoptive, as long as they remain children.
§37.5.1.3Postumis liberis legata relicta utique praestabuntur:
Legacies left to posthumous children will certainly be paid:

Notes

  1. §37.5.1.prad aliquid — An adverbial phrase meaning "in some respect" or "to some extent", modifying the adjective nouam.
  2. §37.5.1.prut... praestarent — Introduces an appositional noun clause explaining the specific content of the aequitatem in the main clause. Although the main verb habet is present, the imperfect subjunctive praestarent is used to refer to the historical establishment of the rule or due to sequence after a historical present.
  3. §37.5.1.pruxori nuruique dotis nomine legatum — legatum is a neuter singular accusative, serving as an object of praestarent as a specific instance (limited to dowry) parallel to the preceding plural accusatives legata et fideicommissa.
  4. §37.5.1.1sed ita demum, si — An idiomatic expression meaning "only if..." or "then and only then, if...", expressing a strict limiting condition.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.5.1.pr-37.5.1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.5.1.pr-37.5.1.3

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