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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.6.5.pr-38.6.5.2

Division of Possession between Emancipated Child and Offspring

Passage 6020 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage details the rules for the possession of goods under the praetor's edict, specifying the distribution of shares between an emancipated child and their own children, and how the share accrues to the grandchildren if the emancipated child does not file a petition.

[POMPONIUS libro quarto ad Sabinum. ] §38.6.5.prSi quis ex his, quibus bonorum possessionem praetor pollicetur, in potestate parentis, de cuius bonis agitur, cum is moritur, non fuerit, ei liberisque, quos in eiusdem familia habebit, si ad eos hereditas suo nomine pertinebit neque nominatim exheredes scripti erunt, bonorum possessio eius partis datur, quae ad eum pertineret, si in potestate permansisset, ita, ut ex ea parte dimidiam habeat, reliquum liberi eius, hisque dumtaxat bona sua conferat. §38.6.5.1Sed et si filium et nepotem ex eo pater emancipauerit, filius solus ueniet ad bonorum possessionem, quamuis capitis deminutio per edictum nulli obstet.
[POMPONIUS in the fourth book on Sabinus.] If anyone of those to whom the praetor promises the possession of goods was not in the power of the parent, whose goods are in question, when that parent dies, the possession of that share which would have belonged to him if he had remained in power is given to him and to the children whom he shall have in the same family, provided that the inheritance belongs to them in their own name and they have not been disinherited by name; on the condition that he shall have a half of that share, and his children the remainder, and that he shall collate his own goods only to them. But even if a father has emancipated a son and a grandson by him, the son alone shall come to the possession of goods, although a change of status stands in the way of no one under the edict.
quin etiam hi quoque, qui in potestate numquam fuerunt nec sui heredis locum optinuerunt, uocantur ad bonorum possessionem parentium.
Nay, even those who were never in power nor obtained the position of a self-successor are called to the possession of the goods of their parents.
nam si filius emancipatus reliquerit in potestate aui nepotem, dabitur ei, qui in potestate relictus sit, patris emancipati bonorum possessio: et si post emancipationem procreauerit, ita nato dabitur aui bonorum possessio, scilicet non obstante ei patre suo. §38.6.5.2Si filius emancipatus non petierit bonorum possessionem, ita integra sunt omnia nepotibus, atque si filius non fuisset, ut quod filius habiturus esset petita bonorum possessione, hoc nepotibus ex eo solis, non etiam reliquis adcrescat.
For if an emancipated son has left a grandson in the power of the grandfather, the possession of the emancipated father's share of goods shall be given to the one who was left in power; and if he has begotten a child after emancipation, the possession of the grandfather's goods shall be given to the child so born, provided, of course, that his own father does not stand in his way. If the emancipated son has not petitioned for the possession of goods, everything is kept so intact for the grandsons, just as if the son had not existed, so that what the son would have had if he had petitioned for the possession of goods shall accrue to his own grandsons alone, and not also to the others.

Notes

  1. §38.6.5.prhisque dumtaxat bona sua conferat — his is a dative referring to the preceding liberi eius, accompanied by dumtaxat (only). The subjunctive conferat expresses a requirement or duty, indicating that the emancipated child is obligated to collate his own goods only to his own children.
  2. §38.6.5.1patris emancipati bonorum possessio — The genitive patris emancipati functions as an objective-like genitive. In this context, it refers not to the possession of the estate of the emancipated father himself, but to 'the possession of the grandfather's estate which the emancipated father would have been entitled to claim,' which is to be given to the grandson left in the grandfather's power.
  3. §38.6.5.2atque si filius non fuisset — atque si (or ac si) correlates with the preceding ita to introduce a hypothetical comparison clause meaning 'just as if'. The pluperfect subjunctive fuisset expresses a past contrary-to-fact condition (i.e., as if the son had not existed).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.6.5.pr-38.6.5.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.6.5.pr-38.6.5.2

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