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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §43.16.6.pr

Assessment of Damages Based on Plaintiff Interest in Possession

Passage 7082 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus explains that the condemnation in the interdict on violence is calculated based on the plaintiff's subjective interest in possession, illustrating with the example of a slave that this interest can exceed the objective value.

[PAULUS libro septimo decimo ad edictum. ] §43.16.6.prIn interdicto unde ui tanti condemnatio facienda est, quanti intersit possidere: et hoc iure nos uti Pomponius scribit, id est tanti rem uideri, quanti actoris intersit: quod alias minus esse, alias plus: nam saepe actoris pluris interesse hominem retinere, quam quanti is est, ueluti cum quaestionis habendae aut rei probandae gratia aut hereditatis adeundae intersit eius eum possideri.
[PAULUS libro septimo decimo ad edictum.] In the interdict on violence, the condemnation must be made for as much as it is of interest to possess; and Pomponius writes that we employ this rule, that is, that the property is valued at as much as it is of interest to the plaintiff. This is sometimes less, sometimes more; for it is often of greater interest to the plaintiff to retain a slave than what that slave is worth, as, for example, when it is of interest to him for the slave to be possessed for the sake of holding an examination under torture, or of proving a matter, or of entering upon an inheritance.

Notes

  1. §43.16.6.prtanti condemnatio facienda est, quanti intersit possidere — The genitives 'tanti... quanti' express the degree of value or interest associated with the impersonal verb 'intersit'. The infinitive 'possidere' (to possess) functions as the subject of 'intersit'.
  2. §43.16.6.practoris pluris interesse — In the construction of 'interesse', the person whose interest is concerned is expressed in the genitive, hence 'actoris'. 'pluris' is a genitive of value (comparative) indicating a higher degree of interest.
  3. §43.16.6.printersit eius eum possideri — 'eius' is the genitive dependent on 'intersit' referring to the plaintiff. The accusative and infinitive 'eum possideri' serves as the subject of 'intersit'. 'eum' refers back to 'hominem' (the slave), and 'possideri' is the passive infinitive, meaning 'that the slave be possessed'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §43.16.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:43.16.6.pr

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