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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §39.3.18.pr-39.3.18.1

Rainwater Actions on Public Lands and Drawing Water across Roads

Passage 6191 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text states that no action for warding off rainwater can be brought for work done on public land, whereas it can be brought if public land merely intervenes between private properties, and that drawing water through a public road requires the emperor's permission.

[IAUOLENUS libro decimo ex Cassio. ] §39.3.18.prSi in publico opus factum est, quo aqua pluuia noceret, agi non potest: interueniente loco publico agi poterit.
[IAUOLENUS in the tenth book on Cassius.] If work is done on public land, by which rainwater causes damage, no action can be brought; if public land intervenes, an action can be brought.
causa eius rei haec est, quod ea actione non tenetur nisi dominus solus.
The reason for this is that only the owner is liable under that action.
§39.3.18.1Sine permissu principis aqua per uiam publicam duci non potest.
Without the permission of the emperor, water cannot be drawn through a public road.

Notes

  1. §39.3.18.pragi non potest — The verb agi (to bring an action) refers in this context to bringing the action for warding off rainwater (actio aquae pluviae arcendae). It is used impersonally.
  2. §39.3.18.printerueniente loco publico — An ablative absolute construction. It refers to a situation where public land lies between the neighbor's private land (the potential defendant) and the plaintiff's land. In this case, since there is a private owner who can be held liable, the action can be brought.
  3. §39.3.18.prnon tenetur nisi dominus solus — Meaning 'only the owner is held liable (as a defendant)'. Since the action for warding off rainwater can only be brought against the owner of the land where the work was done, no specific private 'owner' can be held liable for work done on public land, making the action impossible.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §39.3.18.pr-39.3.18.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:39.3.18.pr-39.3.18.1

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