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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §42.5.31.pr-42.5.31.5

Demand of Security from a Suspect Heir

Passage 6980 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses the procedure for creditors to demand security from a suspect heir, the requirements for the praetor's investigation and decrees, and the liability of creditors for making groundless petitions.

[ULPIANUS libro secundo de omnibus tribunalibus. ] §42.5.31.prSi creditores heredem suspectum putent, satisdationem exigere possunt pro suo debito reddendo.
[ULPIANUS on All Tribunals, book 2.] If creditors think an heir suspect, they can demand security for the payment of their debt.
cuius rei gratia cognoscere praetorem oportet nec statim eum satisdationis necessitati subicere debet, nisi causa cognita constiterit prospici debere his, qui suspectum eum postulauerunt.
For this reason, the praetor ought to investigate the matter and should not immediately subject him to the necessity of giving security, unless, after examining the case, it is clear that provision should be made for those who have petitioned against him as suspect.
§42.5.31.1Sed suspectus heres non isdem modis, quibus suspectus tutor aestimatur: siquidem tutorem non facultates, sed fraudulenta in rebus pupillaribus et callida conuersatio suspectum commendet, heredem uero solae facultates.
But a suspect heir is not assessed in the same way as a suspect tutor: for a tutor is shown to be suspect not by his financial means, but by his fraudulent and crafty conduct in the affairs of the ward, whereas an heir is shown to be so by his financial means alone.
§42.5.31.2Plane in recenti aditae hereditatis audiendi erunt, qui suspectum postulant: ceterum si probentur passi eum in hereditate morari nec quicquam possint obicere criminis quasi dolose uersato eo, non debebit post multum temporis ad hanc necessitatem compelli.
Clearly, if the inheritance has been entered upon recently, those who petition against him as suspect must be heard; but if it is proved that they allowed him to remain in the inheritance and can charge him with no crime as having acted deceitfully, he ought not to be compelled to this necessity after a long lapse of time.
§42.5.31.3Quod si suspectus satisdare iussus decreto praetoris non obtemperauerit, tunc bona hereditatis possideri uenumque dari ex edicto suo permittere iubebit.
But if the suspect heir, when ordered to give security, does not obey the decree of the praetor, then the praetor will order that, in accordance with his edict, possession of the goods of the inheritance be taken and that they be allowed to be sold.
§42.5.31.4Plane si doceatur nihil ex bonis alienasse nec sit quod ei iuste praeter paupertatem obiciatur, contentus esse praetor debet, ut iubeat eum nihil minuere.
Clearly, if it is shown that he has alienated nothing from the property and there is nothing that can be justly charged against him except poverty, the praetor ought to be content to order him to diminish nothing.
§42.5.31.5Quod si nec inopia laborantem eum creditores ostendere potuerint, iniuriarum actione ei tenebuntur.
But if the creditors cannot even show that he is suffering from poverty, they will be held liable to him under the action for injuries.

Notes

  1. 42.5.31.prcuius rei gratia — The genitive of the connecting relative pronoun `cuius` with `gratia` ("for the sake of / by reason of") refers back to the demand for security in the preceding sentence.
  2. 42.5.31.1suspectum commendet — The verb `commendo` originally means "to recommend" or "to commend," but here it is used in the sense of "presents as suspect" or "shows to be suspect."
  3. 42.5.31.2in recenti aditae hereditatis — `in recenti` (the neuter singular ablative of the adjective `recens` used substantively, meaning "at the beginning of") is construed with the genitive `aditae hereditatis` ("of the entered inheritance," a noun modified by a perfect participle).
  4. 42.5.31.2quasi dolose uersato eo — An ablative absolute introduced by the conjunction `quasi` ("as if"), where the pronoun `eo` (referring to the heir) acts as the subject, and the perfect participle `uersato` from the deponent verb `uersor` acts as the predicate.
  5. 42.5.31.3permittere iubebit — The main verb `iubebit` (subject: the praetor) governs the infinitive `permittere` ("to permit"), which in turn governs the accusative-with-infinitive clause `bona hereditatis possideri uenumque dari` ("that the goods of the inheritance be possessed and sold").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §42.5.31.pr-42.5.31.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:42.5.31.pr-42.5.31.5

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