Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.1.19.pr

Validity of Stipulations on Fault-Based Divorce Penalties

Passage 7365 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius argues that a stipulation promising a payment in the event of a divorce caused by a spouse's fault is void, unless the stipulated penalty is equal to the penalty prescribed by law.

[IDEM libro quinto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §45.1.19.prSi stipulatio facta fuerit: 'si culpa tua diuortium factum fuerit, dari?', nulla stipulatio est, quia contenti esse debemus poenis legum comprehensis: nisi si et stipulatio tantundem habeat poenae, quanta lege sit comprehensa.

[THE SAME, in the fifteenth book on Sabinus.] If a stipulation is made in these terms: 'If a divorce is brought about through your fault, shall [something] be given?', the stipulation is void, because we ought to be content with the penalties prescribed by the laws; unless the stipulation also contains just as much of a penalty as is prescribed by the law.

Notes

45.1.19.prdari — A present passive infinitive, representing the verbal part of a formulaic question in a verbal contract (stipulatio), such as `dari spondes?` ("Do you promise that it be given?"), or expressing the content of the performance concisely.
45.1.19.prtantundem... quanta — A correlative expression. The neuter accusative singular `tantundem` ("just as much") is the object of `habeat` and is followed by the partitive genitive `poenae` ("of penalty"). In correlation with this, the feminine nominative singular relative pronoun `quanta` agrees in gender and number with the implied antecedent `poena` and serves as the subject of `lege sit comprehensa` ("is prescribed by law").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.1.19.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.1.19.pr

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