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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.8.15.pr

Just Grounds for Excusing Arbitrators from Making Awards

Passage 836 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

While the praetor generally compels the arbitrator to give an award, he should accept valid excuses, such as insults from litigants, personal enmity, illness, or public duties, upon investigating the circumstances.

[ULPIANUS libro tertio decimo ad edictum. ] §4.8.15.prLicet autem praetor destricte edicat sententiam se arbitrum dicere coacturum, attamen interdum rationem eius habere debet et excusationem recipere causa cognita: ut puta si fuerit infamatus a litigatoribus, aut si inimicitiae capitales inter eum et litigatores aut alterum ex litigatoribus intercesserint, aut si aetas aut ualetudo quae postea contigit id ei munus remittat, aut occupatio negotiorum propriorum uel profectio urguens aut munus aliquod rei publicae: et ita Labeo:
[ULPIAN in his thirteenth book on the Edict.] Although, however, the praetor sternly proclaims that he will compel the arbitrator to give his award, nevertheless he ought sometimes to take account of him and receive his excuse after investigating the case: as for instance if he has been defamed by the litigants, or if deadly enmity has arisen between him and the litigants or one of the litigants, or if age or ill health which occurred subsequently excuses him from this duty, or if there is devotion to his own affairs, or an urgent departure, or some public office: and so Labeo holds:

Notes

  1. §4.8.15.prse arbitrum dicere coacturum — An accusative with infinitive clause functioning as the object of edicat. Here se refers to the praetor (the subject of edicat), while coacturum (esse) is the future active infinitive governing the accusative object arbitrum, which in turn acts as the subject of the infinitive dicere (sententiam dicere).
  2. §4.8.15.prcausa cognita — Ablative absolute. A technical legal expression meaning "upon cause being shown" or "after investigating the circumstances of the case."
  3. §4.8.15.prremittat — Present subjunctive. With aetas aut ualetudo as its subject, it takes the dative ei (the arbitrator) and the accusative id munus (this duty), meaning "excuses him from this duty."
  4. §4.8.15.proccupatio negotiorum propriorum — Syntactically, the conjunction si and the verb (such as remittat or another verb of excusing) are omitted from the preceding clause, with these nominative noun phrases placed in parallel as additional grounds for excuse.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.8.15.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.8.15.pr

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