Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.1.44.pr

Surety's Liability and Delay in Contracts for Services

Passage 5929 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The liability and delay of a surety in a freedman's services are explained and contrasted with the surety's delay in the case of an owed slave.

[SCAEUOLA libro quarto quaestionum. ] §38.1.44.prSi libertus moram in operis fecerit, fideiussor tenetur: mora fideiussoris nulla est.

[SCAEVOLA, in his fourth book of Questions.] If a freedman falls into delay in his services, the surety is held liable; there is no delay on the part of the surety.

at in homine debito fideiussor etiam ex sua mora in obligatione retinetur.

But in the case of a slave who is owed, the surety is also held to his obligation by reason of his own delay.

Notes

§38.1.44.prin homine debito — Refers to a specific slave who is the object of an obligation. Unlike the non-substitutable physical services (operae) of a freedman, in an obligation to deliver a specific slave, not only the principal debtor but also the surety can fall into "delay" (mora) regarding delivery. In such a case, the surety remains bound to the obligation (in obligatione retinetur) even after the destruction of the object.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.1.44.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.1.44.pr

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