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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.7.20.pr

Criminal Liability of Freed Slaves for Crimes Ordered by Masters

Passage 7305 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text explains that a slave is not exempt from punishment for committing serious crimes like murder or piracy even under their master's order, and can be sued after manumission; however, actions lacking criminal intent, such as protecting a right, should not lead to lawsuits after they become free.

[ALFENUS libro secundo digestorum. ] §44.7.20.prSeruus non in omnibus rebus sine poena domino dicto audiens esse solet, sicuti si dominus hominem occidere aut furtum alicui facere seruum iussisset.
[ALFENUS, from the second book of Digests.] A slave is not accustomed in all matters to be obedient to the word of his master without impunity, as for instance, if a master had ordered a slave to kill a man or to commit a theft against someone.
quare quamuis domini iussu seruus piraticam fecisset, iudicium in eum post libertatem reddi oportet.
Therefore, even if a slave had committed piracy by the order of his master, an action ought to be granted against him after his manumission.
et quodcumque ui fecisset, quae uis a maleficio non abesset, ita oportet poenas eum pendere.
And whatever he had done by force, which force was not far from a crime, he must likewise pay the penalty.
sed si aliqua rixa ex litibus et contentione nata esset aut aliqua uis iuris retinendi causa facta esset et ab his rebus facinus abesset, tum non conuenit praetorem, quod seruus iussu domini fecisset, de ea re in liberum iudicium dare.
But if some brawl had arisen from lawsuits and contention, or some force had been used for the sake of retaining a right, and crime was absent from these actions, then it is not fitting for the praetor to grant an action on that matter against him as a free man for what he had done as a slave by the order of his master.

Notes

  1. §44.7.20.prdomino dicto audiens — The dative 'domino' depends on the phrase 'dicto audiens' (listening to the word, obedient), forming an idiomatic expression meaning 'obedient to the master'.
  2. §44.7.20.prin liberum iudicium dare — The preposition 'in' with the accusative 'liberum' (used substantively for 'a free man') indicates the target against whom the action is granted ('iudicium dare'). This accusative-with-infinitve clause ('praetorem... iudicium dare') serves as the subject of the impersonal verb 'non conuenit'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.7.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.7.20.pr

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