Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.8.30.pr

Lawsuits on Arbitrated Matters and Penalties for Evasion

Passage 851 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses the case of bringing an arbitrated matter to court, rejecting the view that the praetor should not compel the arbitrator, and argues that the penalty must be incurred to prevent evasion while the lawsuit proceeds.

[PAULUS libro tertio decimo ad edictum. ] §4.8.30.prSi quis rem, de qua compromissum sit, in iudicium deducat, quidam dicunt praetorem non interuenire ad cogendum arbitrum sententiam dicere, quia iam poena non potest esse, atque si solutum est compromissum.
[PAULUS in his thirteenth book on the Edict.] If anyone brings a matter, concerning which an arbitration agreement has been made, before a court of law, some say that the praetor does not intervene to compel the arbitrator to give a decision, because a penalty can no longer be incurred, just as if the arbitration agreement had been dissolved.
sed si hoc optinuerit, futurum est, ut in potestate eius, quem paenitet compromississe, sit compromissum eludere.
But if this opinion should prevail, the result will be that it is in the power of the person who regrets having entered into the arbitration agreement to evade it.
ergo aduersus eum poena committenda est lite apud iudicem suo ordine peragenda.
Therefore, the penalty must be incurred against him, while the lawsuit before the judge is carried through in its proper order.

Notes

  1. §4.8.30.pratque si — Here used synonymously with the conjunctions 'ac si' or 'quasi', introducing a conditional clause of comparison meaning 'as if' or 'just as if'. Rather than separating 'atque' (and) and 'si' (if), it is to be understood as a single unit expressing a hypothetical state.
  2. §4.8.30.prquem paenitet compromississe — A construction with the impersonal verb 'paenitet' (to regret, repent). The person who regrets is in the accusative (quem), and the object of regret is expressed by the infinitive (compromississe). It means 'the person who regrets having entered into an arbitration agreement', forming a relative clause modifying 'eius'.
  3. §4.8.30.prlite apud iudicem suo ordine peragenda — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the ablative singular of the noun 'lis' (lawsuit) and the feminine ablative singular of the gerundive 'peragenda' (to be carried through). It expresses a concessive or attendant circumstance: 'although the lawsuit before the judge is carried through in its proper order' or 'while the lawsuit is being carried through'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.8.30.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.8.30.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.