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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §39.2.19.pr-39.2.19.1

Protection of Absentees and the Praetor's Jurisdiction

Passage 6142 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section states that the right of those absent in good faith to seek security for threatened damage is preserved upon their return, and that the praetor ensures security is given against potential damage caused by defects in buildings or construction works.

[GAIUS ad edictum praetoris urbani titulo de damno infecto. ] §39.2.19.prEorum, qui bona fide absunt, in stipulatione damni infecti ius non corrumpitur, sed reuersis cauendi ex bono et aequo potestas datur, siue domini sint siue aliquid in ea re ius habeant, qualis est creditor et fructuarius et superficiarius.
[GAIUS on the Edict of the Urban Praetor, under the title of threatened damage.] The right of those who are absent in good faith is not destroyed in respect of the stipulation of threatened damage, but upon their return, a power to obtain security on the basis of what is good and fair is given to them, whether they are owners or have some right in that property, such as a creditor, a usufructuary, and a superficiary.
§39.2.19.1Siue aedium uitio siue operis, quod uel in aedibus uel in loco urbano aut rustico, priuato publicoue fiat, damni aliquid futurum sit, curat praetor, ut timenti damnum caueatur.
Whether some damage is expected to happen from a defect in a building or from a work which is carried out either in a building or on land, whether urban or rustic, private or public, the praetor sees to it that security is given to the person who fears the damage.

Notes

  1. §39.2.19.prcauendi — The gerund cauendi (genitive of cauere, "to give security" or "to obtain security") is used here not in the active sense of providing security, but from the perspective of the stipulator, meaning "obtaining security" or "receiving a guarantee."
  2. §39.2.19.1damni aliquid — aliquid (neuter singular nominative) is the subject, and damni (neuter singular genitive) is a partitive genitive qualifying it ("some damage").
  3. §39.2.19.1timenti — The dative singular of the present participle of timere ("to fear"), used substantively to mean "for the person who fears (future damage)," functioning as the dative complement of the impersonal passive caueatur ("let security be given").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §39.2.19.pr-39.2.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:39.2.19.pr-39.2.19.1

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