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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §42.8.7.pr

Revocation of Fraudulent Undervalue Sale and Refund

Passage 7008 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding whether creditors seeking the revocation of a fraudulent land sale at a low price to a knowing buyer must refund the purchase price, the text presents Proculus' opinion that the land must be returned in any event, which was confirmed by an imperial rescript.

[PAULUS libro sexagensimo secundo ad edictum. ] §42.8.7.prSi debitor in fraudem creditorum minore pretio fundum scienti emptori uendiderit, deinde hi, quibus de reuocando eo actio datur, eum petant, quaesitum est, an pretium restituere debent.
[PAULUS, On the Edict, Book 62] If a debtor, in fraud of creditors, has sold a tract of land at a lower price to a buyer who was aware of the fraud, and thereafter those to whom an action for revoking it is granted should claim it, it has been asked whether they ought to restore the price.
Proculus existimat omnimodo restituendum esse fundum, etiamsi pretium non soluatur: et rescriptum est secundum Proculi sententiam.
Proculus thinks that the land must be restored in any event, even if the price is not repaid; and a rescript was issued in accordance with Proculus' opinion.

Notes

  1. 42.8.7.prde reuocando eo — eo is the ablative singular masculine of the demonstrative pronoun is, referring back to the masculine noun fundum (land), agreeing with the gerundive reuocando in a gerundive construction meaning "concerning the revocation of it." Although eo could theoretically be taken as neuter referring to the transaction itself, it is more natural to understand it as referring to the land, in connection with the preceding fundum and the subsequent eum.
  2. 42.8.7.pran pretium restituere debent — Within the indirect question introduced by an, the indicative present debent is used instead of the standard classical subjunctive (debeant). This reflects a tendency in post-classical and juristic Latin where the indicative is frequently found in indirect questions. The subject is contextually the creditors (hi) who bring the action.
  3. 42.8.7.prsoluatur — Present subjunctive passive of the verb soluere (to pay, release). Here it refers to the purchase price (pretium) not being "repaid" or "paid back" to the buyer. The subjunctive is used because it is introduced by the concessive conjunction etiamsi.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §42.8.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:42.8.7.pr

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