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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.9.27.pr-40.9.27.1

Conditional Debts, Trusts, and Ward Consent to Manumission

Passage 6549 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses restrictions on manumission to defraud creditors under the Lex Aelia Sentia concerning future and conditional debts and trusts, and addresses the validity of consent given by a ward creditor or usufructuary for manumitting a pledged slave.

[HERMOGENIANUS libro primo iuris epitomarum. ] §40.9.27.prIn fraudem creditorum manumittitur liberque esse prohibetur, siue dies soluendae pecuniae iam cessit, siue in diem uel sub condicione sit debitum.
[HERMOGENIANUS, from the first book of Epitomes of Law.] A slave is manumitted to defraud creditors and is prevented from being free, whether the day for paying the money has already come, or the debt is due on a future date or subject to a condition.
diuersa causa est legati sub condicione relicti: nam antequam condicio extiterit, inter creditores legatarius iste non habetur.
Different is the case of a legacy left under a condition: for before the condition has been fulfilled, that legatee is not reckoned among the creditors.
ex omni autem causa creditoribus in hac parte lex Aelia Sentia prospexit, inter quos fideicommissarium etiam esse placuit.
However, the Lex Aelia Sentia provided for creditors in this regard from every legal cause, among whom it was held that even a beneficiary of a trust is included.
§40.9.27.1Pignori datus seruus, antequam debiti nomine fiat satis, sine consensu creditorum manumitti non potest.
A slave given in pledge cannot be manumitted without the consent of the creditors before satisfaction is made on account of the debt.
sed pupilli creditoris citra tutoris auctoritatem consensus nihil libertati prodest, sicuti non prodest, si fructuarius pupillus manumissioni similiter consentiat.
But the consent of a ward creditor without the authority of his tutor is of no benefit to freedom, just as it is of no benefit if a ward usufructuary likewise consents to the manumission.

Notes

  1. §40.9.27.prdies soluendae pecuniae iam cessit — The phrase 'dies cedere' is a technical term in classical jurisprudence meaning that the debt has accrued or the due date has arrived. The verb 'cedere' alone carries this technical sense here.
  2. §40.9.27.prin diem uel sub condicione — Contrast between a debt due on a future date ('in diem') and a conditional debt ('sub condicione'). In the former, the debt itself is already established, though the date of payment has not yet arrived.
  3. §40.9.27.1debiti nomine fiat satis — 'satis fiat' is the passive construction of 'satis facere' (to satisfy, to pay). 'debiti nomine' is an ablative phrase meaning 'on account of the debt' or 'under the name of debt'.
  4. §40.9.27.1citra tutoris auctoritatem — The preposition 'citra' is frequently used in late classical legal texts in the sense of 'without' ('sine').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.9.27.pr-40.9.27.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.9.27.pr-40.9.27.1

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