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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.7.56.pr

Survival of Master's Actions upon Slave's Status Change or Death

Passage 7341 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text discusses how various actions accruing to a master on account of his slave survive even if the slave's legal status changes or the slave dies, and outlines the conditions for the survival of the personal claim for return on the ground of theft.

[POMPONIUS libro uicesimo ad Quintum Mucium. ] §44.7.56.prQuaecumque actiones serui mei nomine mihi coeperunt competere uel ex duodecim tabulis uel ex lege Aquilia uel iniuriarum uel furti, eaedem durant, etiam si seruus postea uel manumissus uel alienatus uel mortuus fuerit.
[POMPONIUS, On Quintus Mucius, Book XX] \n \nWhatever actions have begun to belong to me on account of my slave, whether under the Twelve Tables, or under the Lex Aquilia, or for injury, or for theft, these same actions continue to exist, even if the slave should afterwards be manumitted, alienated, or die.
sed et condictio ex furtiua causa competit, nisi si nactus possessionem serui aut alienauero aut manumissero eum.
But a personal claim for return on the ground of theft is also available, unless, after having obtained possession of the slave, I have either alienated or manumitted him.

Notes

  1. §44.7.56.prserui mei nomine — Meaning 'in the name of my slave' or 'on account of my slave'. It refers to the ground of actions accruing to the master due to wrongs done to or by the slave.
  2. §44.7.56.pruel ex duodecim tabulis uel ex lege Aquilia uel iniuriarum uel furti — Among the four parallel sources of actions, the first two are prepositional phrases with 'ex', whereas the latter two ('iniuriarum', 'furti') are genitives directly modifying the implied 'actiones' (action for injuries, action for theft).
  3. §44.7.56.prnisi si nactus possessionem serui aut alienauero aut manumissero eum — The perfect participle 'nactus' (having obtained) functions as a temporal precondition for the future perfect verbs 'alienauero' and 'manumissero'. Thus, the exception ('nisi si') applies only if the owner recovered possession of the slave and subsequently alienated or manumitted him.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.7.56.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.7.56.pr

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