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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.16.11.pr

Extinction of Statutory Inheritance by Capitis Deminutio

Passage 6079 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses that statutory inheritances based on the Law of the Twelve Tables are extinguished by a loss of status (capitis deminutio), whereas those based on new laws or senate decrees are not necessarily so extinguished.

[POMPONIUS libro decimo ad Quintum Mucium. ] §38.16.11.prCapitis deminutione pereunt legitimae hereditates, quae ex lege duodecim tabularum ueniunt, siue uiuo aliquo siue antequam adeatur hereditas eius capitis minutio intercessit, quoniam desinit suus heres uel adgnatus recte dici: quae autem ex legibus nouis aut ex senatus consultis, non utique.
[POMPONIUS, from the tenth book on Quintus Mucius.] Statutory inheritances which derive from the Law of the Twelve Tables are extinguished by loss of status, whether the loss of status occurred while someone was still living, or before his inheritance was accepted; because one ceases to be correctly called a self-successor or an agnate. However, those which derive from new laws or from decrees of the senate are not necessarily so.

Notes

  1. §38.16.11.pruiuo aliquo — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the adjective uiuus (living) and the pronoun aliquis (someone). It refers to a situation where the prospective heir undergoes a loss of status during the lifetime of the deceased, i.e., before the succession opens.
  2. §38.16.11.prantequam adeatur hereditas eius — 'adeatur' is the third-person singular present subjunctive passive of the verb adire (to approach, here meaning to accept an inheritance), used impersonally or with 'hereditas' as its subject. 'eius' refers to the deceased. It means 'before his inheritance is accepted.'
  3. §38.16.11.prnon utique — An elliptical structure at the end of the sentence. The verb 'pereunt' (are extinguished) from the preceding clause is implied, yielding 'non utique pereunt' (are not necessarily extinguished). This indicates that inheritances derived from newer laws or senate decrees may survive a loss of status.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.16.11.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.16.11.pr

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