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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.3.38.pr

Usucapion of Land Acquired in Good Faith from a Bad-Faith Possessor

Passage 6790 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage explains that while a possessor in bad faith cannot acquire property by usucapion, a third party who receives it from them in good faith can do so, because land and space cannot be stolen under the updated legal view.

[IDEM libro secundo rerum cottidianarum siue aureorum. ] §41.3.38.prQuam rem ipse quidem non potest usucapere, quia intellegit alienum se possidere et ob id mala fide possidet.
[THE SAME, Daily Matters or Golden Words, book 2] He himself, indeed, cannot acquire this property by usucapion, because he knows that he possesses what belongs to another, and for that reason he possesses in bad faith.
sed si alii bona fide accipienti tradiderit, poterit is usucapere, quia neque ui possessum neque furtiuum possidet: abolita est enim quorundam ueterum sententia existimantium etiam fundi lociue furtum fieri.
But if he transfers it to another who receives it in good faith, the latter will be able to acquire it by usucapion, because he does not possess what has been occupied by force or what is stolen; for the opinion of certain ancient jurists, who thought that theft of land or a place could also be committed, has been abolished.

Notes

  1. §41.3.38.prQuam rem — This is a connecting relative (relative connection) at the beginning of the sentence, functioning like a demonstrative pronoun ('this property') referring back to the 'possession of another's land' mentioned in the previous section (§41.3.37.1).
  2. §41.3.38.prexistimantium — This is a present participle in the genitive plural, modifying the preceding 'quorundam ueterum' (of certain ancient jurists). The following clause 'fundi lociue furtum fieri' is an accusative with infinitive construction functioning as the object of 'existimantium' ('thinking that theft of land or a place could be committed').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.3.38.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.3.38.pr

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