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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §42.1.33.pr

Restitution Against Judgments Obtained by Perjury and Collusion

Passage 6885 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The Emperor Hadrian, in a rescript, orders a case to be restored to its original status and the matter to be severely punished if it is proven that the judge's decision was corrupted by false witnesses and an adversaries' conspiracy.

[IDEM libro quinto cognitionum. ] §42.1.33.prDiuus Hadrianus, aditus per libellum a Iulio Tarentino et indicante eo falsis testimoniis, conspiratione aduersariorum testibus pecunia corruptis, religionem iudicis circumuentam esse, in integrum causam restituendam in haec uerba rescripsit: 'Exemplum libelli dati mihi a Iulio Tarentino mitti tibi iussi: tu, si tibi probauerit conspiratione aduersariorum et testibus pecunia corruptis oppressum se, et rem seuere uindica et, si qua a iudice tam malo exemplo circumscripto iudicata sunt, in integrum restitue'.
[THE SAME, in the fifth book on Cognitions.] The Divine Hadrian, having been petitioned through a memorial by Iulius Tarentinus, and upon his pointing out that the conscience of the judge had been circumvented by false testimonies, by a conspiracy of the adversaries with witnesses corrupted by money, replied in these words for the case to be restored to its original status: 'I have ordered the copy of the petition presented to me by Iulius Tarentinus to be sent to you: if he proves to you that he was oppressed by a conspiracy of his adversaries and by witnesses corrupted by money, do you both punish the matter severely and, if any decisions have been rendered by the judge who was circumvented by so bad an example, restore them to their original status.'

Notes

  1. §42.1.33.prreligionem iudicis — 'religionem' refers to the "religious conscientiousness" or "oath-bound duty" of the judge. Here, it indicates that the judge's capacity for honest judgment was subverted by false testimony.
  2. §42.1.33.prtestibus pecunia corruptis — An ablative absolute consisting of a noun (testibus) and a participle (corruptis). It stands in a relation explaining the concrete means or attendant circumstance of the preceding 'conspiratione' (ablative), meaning "a conspiracy of the adversaries brought about by witnesses being corrupted with money."
  3. §42.1.33.prin integrum causam restituendam — An accusative with infinitive clause with the omission of 'esse' after the gerundive 'restituendam'. It functions to anticipate the substance (or objective) of the main verb 'rescripsit', forming the semantic structure: "he replied in the following words to the effect that the case should be restored to its original status."
  4. §42.1.33.prtam malo exemplo — An ablative of means or cause modifying the participle 'circumscripto'. 'exemplum' here does not merely mean "precedent" but refers to "a bad practice" or "unjust method," meaning "circumvented by so bad a practice."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §42.1.33.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:42.1.33.pr

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