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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.4.12.pr

Intercession by Women Before Minors and Its Limits

Passage 714 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains the legal principle regarding a woman's intercession for another before a minor, showing how the protection of the woman through an exception depends on the solvency of the original debtor to balance her interest with that of the minor creditor.

[GAIUS libro quarto ad edictum prouinciale. ] §4.4.12.prSi apud minorem mulier pro alio intercesserit, non est ei actio in mulierem danda, sed perinde atque ceteri per exceptionem summoueri debet: scilicet quia communi iure in priorem debitorum ei actio restituitur.
[GAIUS in the fourth book on the Provincial Edict.] If a woman has interceded for another before a minor, an action against the woman should not be given to him, but she ought to be barred by an exception just like all others; that is to say, because by common law his action against the prior debtor is restored to him.
haec si soluendo sit prior debitor: alioquin mulier non utetur senatus consulti auxilio.
This is the case if the prior debtor is solvent; otherwise, the woman will not enjoy the benefit of the senate's decree.

Notes

  1. 4.4.12.prapud minorem — The preposition "apud" (governing the accusative) is used here to mean "before a minor" or "with a minor as creditor," referring to the situation where a woman undertook a debt for another in a transaction with a minor.
  2. 4.4.12.prhaec si soluendo sit prior debitor — Here, "haec" is a demonstrative pronoun (feminine singular nominative) referring to "mulier" (the woman) from the preceding sentence. "soluendo esse" is an idiomatic expression meaning "to be solvent," of which "prior debitor" is the subject. Thus, the phrase is interpreted as "this woman [will be protected] if the prior debtor is solvent."
  3. 4.4.12.prutetur — This is the third-person singular future indicative of the deponent verb "utor" (to use, enjoy), which governs the ablative case, thus taking the ablative phrase "senatus consulti auxilio" (the benefit/aid of the senate's decree) as its object.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.4.12.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.4.12.pr

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