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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.4.39.pr-4.4.39.1

Attaining Majority Pending Appeal and Sales by Curators

Passage 741 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This fragment discusses whether minors who petitioned for reinstatement within the available time and then reached majority during an appeal process can complete the proceedings, and whether a minor can obtain reinstatement against a buyer of land sold by solvent curators.

[SCAEUOLA libro secundo digestorum. ] §4.4.39.prIntra utile tempus restitutionis apud praesidem petierunt in integrum restitutionem minores et de aetate sua probauerunt: dicta pro aetate sententia aduersarii, ut impedirent cognitionem praesidis, ad imperatorem appellauerunt: praeses in euentum appellationis cetera cognitionis distulit.
[SCAEUOLA, in the second book of the Digests.] Within the available time for reinstatement, certain minors petitioned for reinstatement in integrum before the governor and proved their age. When a decision was pronounced in favor of their age, the adversaries, in order to obstruct the governor's inquiry, appealed to the emperor. The governor postponed the rest of the inquiry pending the outcome of the appeal.
quaesitum est: si finita appellationis apud imperatorem cognitione et iniusta appellatione pronuntiata egressi aetatem depraehendantur, an cetera negotii implere possunt, cum per eos non steterit, quo minus res finem accipiat? respondi secundum ea quae proponuntur perinde cognosci atque si nunc intra aetatem essent.
The question was asked: if, after the inquiry into the appeal before the emperor is finished and the appeal has been declared unjust, they are found to have exceeded the age, can they complete the rest of the matter, since it was not due to them that the business did not reach its end? I replied that, according to the facts proposed, the inquiry should be conducted just as if they were still within the age.
§4.4.39.1Uendentibus curatoribus minoris fundum emptor extitit Lucius Titius et sex fere annis possedit et longe longeque rem meliorem fecit: quaero, cum sint idonei curatores, an minor aduersus Titium emptorem in integrum restitui possit.
When the curators of a minor sold an estate, Lucius Titius appeared as buyer, possessed it for about six years, and made the property far, far better. I ask, since the curators are solvent, whether the minor can be reinstated in integrum against the buyer Titius.
respondi ex omnibus quae proponerentur uix esse eum restituendum, nisi si maluerit omnes expensas, quas bona fide emptor fecisse adprobauerit, ei praestare, maxime cum sit ei paratum promptum auxilium curatoribus eius idoneis constitutis.
I replied that, from all the facts proposed, he should scarcely be reinstated, unless he should prefer to refund to the buyer all the expenses which the buyer shall have proved that he made in good faith, especially since a prompt remedy is ready for him, as his solvent curators have been appointed.

Notes

  1. §4.4.39.prutile tempus — Refers to the "available time" (useful time) allowed for seeking legal remedies. Unlike continuous time (tempus continuum), this special method of calculating time counts only those days on which the plaintiff was actually capable of taking legal action (e.g., when courts were open and the party was not prevented by illness).
  2. §4.4.39.prnon steterit, quo minus — The perfect tense of the idiomatic expression stare per aliquem, quo minus... (it is due to someone that ... not). Here, combined with the cum clause, it means "since it was not due to them that the matter did not reach its conclusion."
  3. §4.4.39.1idonei — Beyond the simple meaning of "fit" or "suitable," in juristic Latin this term is specifically used to mean "solvent" or "having sufficient assets." It indicates that the curators (curatores) have enough property for the minor to directly claim compensation for losses against them.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.4.39.pr-4.4.39.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.4.39.pr-4.4.39.1

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