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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §39.5.29.pr-39.5.29.2

Definition of Gift, Judicial Confession, and Invalid Gifts

Passage 6244 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Defines a donation, discusses the binding effect of a confession made in court regarding the extinction of a claim, and addresses the denial of estate actions to a donor who subsequently inherits the property of a living close relative.

[IDEM libro decimo responsorum. ] §39.5.29.prDonari uidetur, quod nullo iure cogente conceditur.
It is understood to be donated what is granted without any compelling law.
§39.5.29.1Quidam in iure interrogatus nihil sibi debere tutoris heredes respondit.
A certain person, when questioned in court, replied that the heirs of his tutor owed him nothing.
eum actionem iure amisisse respondi: licet enim non transactionem, sed donationis haec uerba esse quis accipiat, attamen eum, qui in iure confessus est, suam confessionem infirmare non posse.
I replied that he had lost his action by law; for even if one should accept these words to be of a donation rather than a compromise, nevertheless, he who has confessed in court cannot invalidate his own confession.
§39.5.29.2Donationem quidem partis bonorum proximae cognatae uiuentis nullam fuisse constabat: uerum ei, qui donauit ac postea iure praetorio successit, quoniam aduersus bonos mores et ius gentium festinasset, actiones hereditarias in totum denegandas respondit:
It was clear that the donation of a part of his property to a living close female relative was void; but to him who made the donation and afterwards succeeded by praetorian law, since he had hastened contrary to good morals and the law of nations, the estate actions must be denied entirely, he replied.

Notes

  1. §39.5.29.prnullo iure cogente — This is an ablative absolute construction consisting of the present participle 'cogente' and the noun 'nullo iure'. It expresses the attendant circumstance or condition under which the granting (conceditur) occurs, meaning 'with no law compelling it.'
  2. §39.5.29.1non transactionem, sed donationis haec uerba esse — An accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction where 'haec uerba' is the subject of 'esse'. The two compared predicate elements are asymmetrical: one is the accusative 'transactionem' ('[that these words are] a compromise'), and the other is the possessive genitive 'donationis' ('[that they are] of a donation').
  3. §39.5.29.2ei, qui donauit ac postea iure praetorio successit, ... actiones hereditarias in totum denegandas respondit — The skeletal structure of the sentence is 'ei' (dative) ... 'denegandas [esse] respondit'. The gerundive 'denegandas' (expressing passive obligation) agrees with the accusative feminine plural 'actiones hereditarias', forming an accusative with infinitive clause (with 'esse' omitted) that serves as the object of 'respondit'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §39.5.29.pr-39.5.29.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:39.5.29.pr-39.5.29.2

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