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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.3.41.pr

Possession of Stolen Property by Agent and Usucapion

Passage 6793 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The author argues that if an agent takes possession of a thing stolen from the principal, it cannot be considered to have returned to the principal's control for usucapion, despite the general rule of acquiring possession through an agent.

[IDEM libro septimo membranarum. ] §41.3.41.prSi rem subreptam mihi procurator meus adprehendit, quamuis per procuratorem possessionem apisci nos iam fere conueniat, nihilo magis eam in potestatem meam redisse usuque capi posse existimandum est, quia contra statui captiosum erit.
[THE SAME, Memoirs, book 7] If my agent takes possession of a thing stolen from me, although it is now generally agreed that we acquire possession through an agent, it must no more be considered that it has returned to my control and can be acquired by usucapion, because to decide otherwise would be hazardous.

Notes

  1. §41.3.41.prmihi — A dative of separation (dativus separationis) depending on the perfect passive participle subreptam (from subripere, 'to steal'). It expresses 'stolen from me'.
  2. §41.3.41.prnihilo magis — nihilo is an ablative of measure of difference modifying the comparative magis, meaning 'by no means more' or 'no more'. Connected with the following existimandum est, it expresses a strong negative obligation: 'it must by no means be considered'.
  3. §41.3.41.prcontra statui — statui is the present passive infinitive of statuere ('to decide', 'to establish'). Together with the adverb contra, it functions substantively as the subject of the quia clause, meaning 'to decide to the contrary' (literally, 'to be decided otherwise').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.3.41.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.3.41.pr

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