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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.3.1.pr-45.3.1.6

Stipulations by Slaves and Acquisition of Claims

Passage 7509 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Julianus discusses various scenarios of stipulations involving slaves, common slaves, and usufructuary slaves, clarifying who acquires the obligation and what actions or defenses are available to each party under specific legal conditions.

[IULIANUS libro quinquagensimo secundo digestorum. ] §45.3.1.prCum seruus stipuletur, nihil interest, sibi an domino an uero sine alterutra eorum adiectione dari stipuletur.
[JULIANUS, in the fifty-second book of the Digests.] When a slave stipulates, it makes no difference whether he stipulates that the thing be given to himself, or to his master, or indeed without the addition of either of them.
§45.3.1.1Si seruus tuus, qui mihi bona fide seruiebat, peculium habuerit, quod ad te pertineat, et ego ex eo pecuniam Titio credidero, nummi tui manebunt, stipulando autem mihi seruus eandem pecuniam nihil aget: uindicando ergo eam pecuniam tu consequi poteris.
If your slave, who was serving me in good faith, had a peculium which belonged to you, and I lent money from it to Titius, the coins will remain yours; but the slave, by stipulating for the same money to be given to me, will achieve nothing: therefore, you will be able to recover that money by claiming it.
§45.3.1.2Si seruus communis meus et tuus ex peculio, quod ad te solum pertinebat, mutuam pecuniam dederit, obligationem tibi adquiret et, si eandem mihi nominatim stipulatus fuerit, debitorem a te non liberabit, sed uterque nostrum habebit actionem, ego ex stipulatu, tu quod pecunia tua numerata sit: debitor tamen me doli mali exceptione summouere poterit.
If a slave common to me and you has lent money out of a peculium which belonged to you alone, he will acquire the obligation for you; and if he has stipulated for the same to be given specifically to me, he will not release the debtor from you, but both of us will have an action: I on the stipulation, and you on the ground that your money was paid over: the debtor, however, will be able to bar me by the plea of fraud.
§45.3.1.3Quod seruus meus meo seruo dari stipulatur, id perinde haberi debet, ac si mihi stipuletur: item quod tuo seruo stipulatur, perinde ac si tibi stipulatus esset, ut altera stipulatio obligationem pariat, altera nullius momenti sit.
What my slave stipulates to be given to my slave must be treated in the same way as if he stipulated for himself: likewise, what he stipulates for your slave, in the same way as if he had stipulated for you, so that one stipulation generates an obligation, while the other is of no effect.
§45.3.1.4Communis seruus duorum seruorum personam sustinet.
A common slave sustains the person of two slaves.
idcirco si proprius meus seruus communi meo et tuo seruo stipulatus fuerit, idem iuris erit in hac una conceptione uerborum, quod futurum esset, si separatim duae stipulationes conceptae fuissent, altera in personam mei serui, altera in personam tui serui: neque existimare debemus partem dimidiam tantum mihi adquiri, partem nullius esse momenti, quia persona serui communis eius condicionis est, ut in eo, quod alter ex dominis potest adquirere, alter non potest, perinde habeatur, ac si eius solius esset, cui adquirendi facultatem habeat.
Therefore, if my own slave has stipulated for a slave common to me and you, the same rule of law will apply to this single formulation of words as would apply if two separate stipulations had been formulated, one for the person of my slave, and the other for the person of your slave; nor ought we to think that only a half part is acquired for me and half is of no effect, because the persona of a common slave is of such a condition that in a matter which one of the masters can acquire and the other cannot, he is treated just as if he belonged solely to the one for whom he has the capacity to acquire.
§45.3.1.5Si fructuarius seruus stipulatus esset fructuario aut proprietario, si quidem ex re fructuarii stipulatus esset, inutilis est stipulatio, quia utrique ex re fructuarii actionem adquirere potuisset: sed si aliud stipulatus fuisset, proprietarium petere posse, et, si promissor fructuario soluisset, liberatur.
If a usufructuary slave had stipulated for the usufructuary or the owner, if indeed he stipulated from the property of the usufructuary, the stipulation is useless, because he could have acquired an action for both from the property of the usufructuary; but if he had stipulated for something else, the owner can sue, and if the promisor has paid the usufructuary, he is released.
§45.3.1.6Cum seruus communis Titii et Maeuii stipulatur in hunc modum: 'decem kalendis Titio dare spondes? si decem kalendis Titio non dederis, tunc Maeuio uiginti dare spondes?' duae stipulationes esse uidentur, sed si kalendis decem data non fuerint, uterque dominus ex stipulatu agere poterit, sed in secunda obligatione Maeuio commissa Titius exceptione doli summouebitur.
When a slave common to Titius and Maevius stipulates in this manner: 'Do you promise to give ten to Titius on the Kalends? If you do not give ten to Titius on the Kalends, do you then promise to give twenty to Maevius?' there seem to be two stipulations; but if the ten is not given on the Kalends, each master will be able to sue on the stipulation, but Titius will be barred by a plea of fraud in the second obligation incurred to Maevius.

Notes

  1. 45.3.1.prsibi an domino an uero sine alterutra eorum adiectione dari stipuletur — In "alterutra eorum adiectione", "eorum" is a neuter genitive plural referring to the two verbal additions (adiectiones) mentioned before: "sibi" (to himself) and "domino" (to the master). "Alterutra" is a feminine ablative singular agreeing with "adiectione".
  2. 45.3.1.2quod pecunia tua numerata sit — This is a "quod" clause indicating the basis of the master's action (namely, that the master's money was paid over as a loan). The subjunctive "sit" is used to present this as the formal legal ground or allegation upon which the action rests.
  3. 45.3.1.4ut in eo, quod alter ex dominis potest adquirere, alter non potest, perinde habeatur, ac si eius solius esset, cui adquirendi facultatem habeat — A consecutive "ut" clause following "eius condicionis est", which contains within it a conditional clause of comparison "ac si... esset" (imperfect subjunctive for a contrary-to-fact situation) and a relative clause of characteristic "cui... habeat" (present subjunctive). "Eo" at the beginning refers to the substance of the "quod" clause.
  4. 45.3.1.5potuisset — The subject of the pluperfect subjunctive "potuisset" is contextually the usufructuary slave ("seruus fructuarius"). "Utrique" is a dative (for both), meaning that the slave could have acquired an action for both of them.
  5. 45.3.1.6in secunda obligatione Maeuio commissa — The perfect participle "commissa" agrees with "obligatione". In legal contexts, "committi" signifies that an obligation (such as a penal clause) has been activated or incurred due to the fulfillment of a condition (here, the failure to pay ten on the Kalends).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.3.1.pr-45.3.1.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.3.1.pr-45.3.1.6

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