Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §39.1.23.pr

Sale of Land after Work Notice and Buyer's Liability

Passage 6121 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that when a land subject to a notice of a new work is sold and the buyer builds on it, the buyer (the current possessor) rather than the seller is liable for acting contrary to the edict.

[IAUOLENUS libro septimo epistularum. ] §39.1.23.prIs, cui opus nouum nuntiatum erat, uendidit praedium: emptor aedificauit: emptorem an uenditorem teneri putas, quod aduersus edictum factum sit? respondit: cum operis noui nuntiatio facta est, si quid aedificatum est, emptor, id est dominus praediorum tenetur, quia nuntiatio operis non personae fit et is demum obligatus est, qui eum locum possidet, in quem opus nouum nuntiatum est.
[JAVOLENUS, Letters, book 7.] He, to whom notice of a new work had been given, sold a tract of land; the buyer built. Do you think the buyer or the seller is liable for what has been done contrary to the edict? He replied: When notice of a new work has been given, if anything has been built, the buyer, that is, the owner of the estates, is liable; because the notice is of the work, not of the person, and he alone is bound who possesses the place against which the notice of a new work was given.

Notes

  1. §39.1.23.premptorem an uenditorem teneri putas — This is an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction functioning as the object of the verb `putas`, employing `an` to present a disjunctive (alternative) question.
  2. §39.1.23.properis non personae — Genitives modifying `nuntiatio` (notice). `operis` functions as an objective genitive (notice of the work), which is contrasted with `personae` (of the person) to emphasize that the legal effect of the notice attaches to the property/work itself (in rem) rather than to a specific individual (in personam).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §39.1.23.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:39.1.23.pr

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