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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.7.24.pr-44.7.24.3

Acquisition of Actions by Insane Persons and Negotiorum Gestio

Passage 7309 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text explains how rights such as a condictio or legal actions can be acquired by or in the name of a person of unsound mind without their active awareness or capacity, and outlines the obligation of someone managing their affairs under negotiorum gestio.

[POMPONIUS libro singulari regularum. ] §44.7.24.prSi a furioso, cum eum compotem mentis esse putarem, pecuniam quasi mutuam acceperim eaque in rem meam uersa fuerit, condictio furioso adquiritur: nam ex quibus causis ignorantibus nobis actiones adquiruntur, ex isdem etiam furiosi nomine incipit agi posse: ueluti cum seruus eius stipulatur, cum furtum ei fit, aut damnum ei dando in legem Aquiliam committitur, aut si forte, cum creditor fuerat, fraudandi eius causa debitor alicui rem tradiderit.
[POMPONIUS, from his single book of Rules.] If I receive money as a loan from a person of unsound mind, believing him to be of sound mind, and it is converted to my use, a condictio is acquired by the person of unsound mind; for from the same causes from which actions are acquired for us without our knowledge, from those same causes it also begins to be possible for an action to be brought in the name of a person of unsound mind: as, for example, when his slave enters into a stipulation, when a theft is committed against him, or when damage is done to him in violation of the Aquilian Law, or if by chance, when he was a creditor, his debtor has delivered a thing to someone for the purpose of defrauding him.
idemque erit, si legetur ei uel fideicommissum ei relinquatur.
And the same will hold if a legacy is left to him or a fideicommissum is bequeathed to him.
§44.7.24.1Item si is, qui seruo alieno crediderat, furere coeperit, deinde seruus in rem domini id quod mutuum acceperat uerterit, furioso condictio adquiritur.
Likewise, if one who had given credit to another's slave begins to be of unsound mind, and then the slave converts what he had received as a loan to his master's use, a condictio is acquired by the person of unsound mind.
§44.7.24.2Item si alienam pecuniam credendi causa quis dederit, deinde compos mentis esse desierit, postea consumpta ea furioso condictio adquiritur.
Likewise, if anyone gives another's money for the purpose of lending it, and then ceases to be of sound mind, and afterwards that money is consumed, a condictio is acquired by the person of unsound mind.
§44.7.24.3Et qui negotia furiosi gesserit, negotiorum gestorum ei obligatur.
And he who manages the affairs of a person of unsound mind is bound to him for the management of affairs.

Notes

  1. 44.7.24.prignorantibus nobis — An ablative absolute (noun + participle) meaning "without our knowledge" or "while we are ignorant." It refers to situations where an action is automatically acquired by operation of law (e.g., through a slave's act or the occurrence of theft or damage) without the active awareness of the rights-holder.
  2. 44.7.24.prdamnum ei dando in legem Aquiliam committitur — dando is a gerund in the ablative case expressing means ("by inflicting damage on him"). in legem Aquiliam committitur means "liability is incurred under the Aquilian Law," illustrating that even if the victim is of unsound mind, a claim for damages under tort law is acquired by them.
  3. 44.7.24.3negotiorum gestorum ei obligatur — negotiorum gestorum (of managed affairs) functions with an implied noun such as actione (by the action for [management of affairs]), meaning "is bound to him by the action for the management of affairs." This indicates that someone who voluntarily manages the affairs of a person of unsound mind is legally bound to them under the rules of negotiorum gestio.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.7.24.pr-44.7.24.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.7.24.pr-44.7.24.3

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