Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.6.38.pr-4.6.38.1

Return Travel of Assessors and Limits of Public Absence

Passage 801 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the public-absence privilege of those acting as provincial assessors with imperial permission, and details how to calculate the reasonable return period after office, as well as the treatment of delays caused by private affairs or force majeure such as illness.

[ULPIANUS libro sexto ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §4.6.38.prSi cui in prouincia sua princeps adsidere speciali beneficio permiserit, puto eum rei publicae causa abesse: quod si non ex permissu hoc fecerit, consequenter dicemus, cum crimen admisit, non habere eum priuilegia eorum, qui rei publicae causa absunt. §4.6.38.1Tamdiu rei publicae causa abesse quis uidebitur, quamdiu officio aliquo praeest: quod si finitum fuerit officium, iam desinit abesse rei publicae causa.

[ULPIANUS, On the Julian and Papian Law, Book VI]\n\nIf the emperor by a special favor permits anyone to act as an assessor in his own province, I think that he is absent on public business; but if he does this without permission, we shall consequently say that when he has committed an offense, he does not have the privileges of those who are absent on public business.\n\nA person will be deemed to be absent on public business for as long as he is in charge of some office; but if the office is ended, he already ceases to be absent on public business.

sed ad reuertendum illi tempora computabimus statim atque desiit rei publicae causa abesse ea quibus reuerti in urbem potuit: et erit moderatum tempora ei dare, quae lex reuertentibus praestitit.

However, for his return, we shall calculate the times from the very moment he ceased to be absent on public business, during which he was able to return to the City; and it will be reasonable to give him the times which the law has granted to those who are returning.

quare si quo deflexerit suae rei causa, non dubitamus id tempus ei non proficere, habitaque dinumeratione temporis, quo reuerti potuit, statim eum dicemus desisse rei publicae causa abesse.

Therefore, if he turns aside anywhere for his own business, we do not doubt that this time does not count in his favor, and, having made the calculation of the time in which he could have returned, we shall say that he immediately ceased to be absent on public business.

plane si infirmitate impeditus continuare iter non potuit, habebitur ratio humanitatis, sicuti haberi solet et hiemis et nauigationis et ceterorum quae casu contingunt.

Obviously, if, hindered by illness, he could not continue his journey, consideration of humanity will be shown, just as it is accustomed to be shown for winter, navigation, and other things that happen by chance.

Notes

§4.6.38.prsi cui — Dative singular of the indefinite pronoun aliquis (here quis), with the prefix ali- dropped after the conjunction si. It refers to the person who is permitted to act as an assessor.
§4.6.38.1ea quibus — The accusative neuter plural demonstrative pronoun ea refers back to tempora (times), serving as the antecedent of the relative clause quibus reuerti... potuit and functioning as the direct object of computabimus.
§4.6.38.1ei non proficere — The intransitive verb proficere is used with the dative (ei) to mean "to count in one's favor" or "to be of benefit to," functioning as the predicate of the accusative-and-infinitive clause id tempus ei non proficere.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.6.38.pr-4.6.38.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.6.38.pr-4.6.38.1

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