Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.4.17.pr

Restitution by Praetorian Prefects and Appeal Distinction

Passage 719 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that praetorian prefects can grant restitution in integrum against their own judgments despite their decisions being unappealable, and distinguishes the nature of appeals from that of restitution.

[HERMOGENIANUS libro primo iuris epitomarum. ] §4.4.17.prPraefecti etiam praetorio ex sua sententia in integrum possunt restituere, quamuis appellari ab his non possit.
[HERMOGENIANUS in the first book of the Epitome of Law.] The praetorian prefects also can restore in integrum from their own judgment, although no appeal can be made from them.
Haec idcirco tam uarie, quia appellatio quidem iniquitatis sententiae querellam, in integrum uero restitutio erroris proprii ueniae petitionem uel aduersarii circumuentionis allegationem continet.
These matters are so different for this reason, because an appeal indeed contains a complaint of the injustice of a judgment, but restitution in integrum contains a petition for pardon of one's own error or an allegation of the adversary's circumvention.

Notes

  1. 4.4.17.prappellari ab his non possit — An impersonal passive construction. Literally "it cannot be appealed from them," meaning that an ordinary civil appeal from the decisions of the praetorian prefects is not allowed. `ab his` refers to the preceding `Praefecti praetorio`.
  2. 4.4.17.prHaec idcirco tam uarie — An elliptical clause with the omission of the verb (such as `sunt` or `se habent`). It must be understood in context as "these matters (the different applications of appeal and restitution) are so diverse for this reason, because...".
  3. 4.4.17.prerroris proprii ueniae petitionem — A nested genitive construction. `erroris proprii` (of one's own error) is an objective genitive modifying `ueniae` (pardon for...), which in turn is an objective genitive modifying `petitionem` (petition for...). Together, it means "a petition for the pardon of one's own error."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.4.17.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.4.17.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.