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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §42.4.12.pr

Custody Rather Than Legal Possession for Securing Legacies

Passage 6946 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius points out that when the praetor grants possession of property to preserve legacies or due to lack of security for threatened damage, it does not constitute legal possession, but rather mere custody and supervision.

[POMPONIUS libro uicensimo tertio ad Quintum Mucium. ] §42.4.12.prCum legatorum uel fideicommissi seruandi causa, uel quia damni infecti nobis non caueatur, bona possidere praetor permittit, uel uentris nomine in possessionem nos mittit, non possidemus, sed magis custodiam rerum et obseruationem nobis concedit.
[POMPONIUS, book twenty-three on Quintus Mucius.] When the praetor permits us to possess property for the purpose of preserving legacies or a fideicommissum, or because security is not given to us against threatened damage, or when he puts us into possession in the name of an unborn child, we do not possess, but rather he grants us the custody and watch of the things.

Notes

  1. §42.4.12.prlegatorum uel fideicommissi seruandi causa — seruandi is a gerundive in the genitive case, which, together with causa, expresses purpose. It syntactically agrees with and governs both the plural genitive legatorum and the singular genitive fideicommissi.
  2. §42.4.12.prdamni infecti — Refers to 'threatened damage' or 'damage not yet done'. It is a genitive expressing the object or nature of the security (cautio) to be provided, used in connection with the passive verb caueatur.
  3. §42.4.12.prnon possidemus — Highlights the crucial distinction in Roman law between legal possession (possessio) and mere detention. Even though the praetor 'permits to possess' (possidere permittit), this does not result in true possession, but only in physical custody and watchfulness (custodia et obseruatio).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §42.4.12.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:42.4.12.pr

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