Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.2.8.pr

Liability of the Present Party in Joint Promises with Absentee

Passage 7497 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian explains that under certain verbal formulas, the actual intent of the contracting parties is critical; depending on whether they became joint debtors, the present party is bound either for the whole or only for a part, while the absent party is not bound.

[ULPIANUS libro primo responsorum. ] §45.2.8.prHis uerbis: 'eaque praestari stipulanti tibi spopondimus' interesse, quid inter contrahentes actum sit: nam si duo rei facti sint, eum qui absens fuit non teneri, praesentem autem in solidum esse obligatum, aut si minus, in partem fore obstrictum.
[ULPIANUS in the first book of Responses.] With these words: 'eaque praestari stipulanti tibi spopondimus' (and we have promised to you, the stipulator, that those things shall be performed), it makes a difference what was done between the contracting parties: for if they were made two joint debtors, he who was absent is not bound, but the one present is bound for the whole, or if not, he will be bound for a part.

Notes

  1. §45.2.8.printeresse — An accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction, depending on an implied main verb of responding (e.g., respondit), which is highly typical of the style in Ulpian's Responsa. The grammatical subject of the infinitive 'interesse' is the indirect question clause 'quid inter contrahentes actum sit'.
  2. §45.2.8.prsi minus — An elliptical conditional phrase meaning 'if not' or 'if less than that'. Here, it refers to the scenario where a full agreement to make them joint debtors (duo rei) was not reached, in which case the present party is bound only for a share (in partem) rather than the whole (in solidum).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.2.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.2.8.pr

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