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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.2.34.pr

Satisfying the Legal Share of an Omitted Co-Patron

Passage 5970 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section determines how the legal share of an omitted patron is to be satisfied when only one of the two patrons was instituted as heir and the remaining half was left to an outsider.

[IAUOLENUS libro tertio ex Cassio. ] §38.2.34.prSi libertus, cum duos patronos haberet, alterum praeteriit, alterum ex semisse fecit heredem et alteri extraneo semissem dereliquit, scriptus quidem patronus debitam sibi partem immunem habet: de cetera autem parte patroni, quae supra debitum ei relicta est, et de semisse extraneo relicto alteri patrono pro rata portione satisfieri oportet.
[JAVOLENUS, in the third book on Cassius.] If a freedman, although he had two patrons, passed over one, made the other heir to a half, and left the other half to an outsider, the patron who was written as heir indeed holds the share due to him free from liability; however, out of the remaining share of this patron which was left to him over and above what was due to him, and out of the half left to the outsider, satisfaction must be made to the other patron in proportion.

Notes

  1. §38.2.34.prcum duos patronos haberet — The cum clause with the imperfect subjunctive is most naturally interpreted here as concessive ('although he had two patrons'), given the context of omission.
  2. §38.2.34.prdebitam sibi partem — This refers to the statutory share (forced share) legally guaranteed to a patron. Since there are two patrons in this case, half of the total estate is reserved for the patrons, making each individual's 'due share' one-quarter of the whole.
  3. §38.2.34.prde cetera autem parte patroni — The genitive patroni depends on cetera parte. It refers to the 'remaining (other) part' (i.e., one-quarter) of the half (two-quarters) left to the instituted patron, which exceeds his statutory share of one-quarter.
  4. §38.2.34.prsatisfieri oportet — An impersonal construction with oportet governing the passive infinitive satisfieri. It indicates that the omitted patron's statutory share (one-quarter) must be made up from the instituted patron's excess share (one-quarter) and the outsider's share (half) in a 1:2 ratio (pro rata portione).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.2.34.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.2.34.pr

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