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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.4.8.pr

Buyer's Usucapion Despite Seller's Waste of Money

Passage 6810 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It argues that even if a purchaser knows that the seller will immediately waste the purchase money, they are still considered a buyer in good faith as long as they buy from the owner, and usucapion should be allowed.

[IDEM libro secundo ex Minicio. ] §41.4.8.prSi quis, cum sciret uenditorem pecuniam statim consumpturum, seruos ab eo emisset, plerique responderunt eum nihilo minus bona fide emptorem esse, idque uerius est: quomodo enim mala fide emisse uidetur, qui a domino emit? nisi forte et is, qui a luxurioso et protinus scorto daturo pecuniam seruos emit, non usucapiet.
[THE SAME, from Minicius, book 2] If anyone, although he knew that the seller would immediately waste the money, should have bought slaves from him, most authorities answered that he is nevertheless a purchaser in good faith, and this is more correct: for how does he, who buys from the owner, seem to have bought in bad faith? Unless perhaps even he, who buys slaves from a spendthrift and one who will immediately give the money to a prostitute, shall not acquire them by usucapion.

Notes

  1. §41.4.8.prcum sciret — The cum clause with the subjunctive imperfect sciret expresses a concessive nuance ("although he knew") or the temporal/circumstantial background under which the purchase took place.
  2. §41.4.8.prnisi forte — An ironic expression ("unless perhaps") introducing an absurd consequence. It counters the position that overly broadens the definition of the buyer's "bad faith," demonstrating that pushing such logic would lead to an extreme conclusion (denying even purchases from spendthrifts), thereby strengthening the author's own argument.
  3. §41.4.8.prqui a domino emit — "He who buys from the owner." It presupposes the legal principle that while usucapion and the requirements of good/bad faith are originally issues in sales of another's property (purchases from a non-owner), a transaction is valid and cannot be deemed in bad faith if made with the true owner (domino), regardless of how the purchase money is used.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.4.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.4.8.pr

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