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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.1.13.pr

Exercise and Cession of Actions in Mandate of Credit

Passage 7561 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the exercise of actions by a creditor against a mandator and a debtor when a loan is made to a third party by mandate, and the corresponding rules of release and cession of actions.

[IDEM libro quarto decimo digestorum. ] §46.1.13.prSi mandatu meo Titio decem credideris et mecum mandati egeris, non liberabitur Titius: sed ego tibi non aliter condemnari debebo, quam si actiones, quas aduersus Titium habes, mihi praestiteris.
[THE SAME in the fourteenth book of the digests.] If on my mandate you have lent Titius ten, and you bring an action of mandate against me, Titius will not be released; but I ought not to be condemned to you otherwise than if you surrender to me the actions which you have against Titius.
item si cum Titio egeris, ego non liberabor, sed in id dumtaxat tibi obligatus ero, quod a Titio seruare non potueris.
Likewise, if you bring an action against Titius, I shall not be released, but I shall be obligated to you only for that which you could not recover from Titius.

Notes

  1. §46.1.13.prmandati — The noun `actio` (action) is omitted, and the genitive `mandati` specifies the type of action (action of mandate). `cum aliquo mandati agere` is an established legal expression in Roman jurisprudence meaning "to bring an action of mandate against someone."
  2. §46.1.13.prnon aliter condemnari debebo, quam si — `non aliter... quam si...` expresses a condition meaning "not otherwise than if..." (i.e., "only if..."). Here, it explains that I, the mandator, ought to be condemned (condemnari) only if you, the creditor, surrender (praestiteris) the actions (actiones) you have against the principal debtor (Titius) to me, which refers to the legal doctrine later known as the *beneficium cedendarum actionum* (benefit of cession of actions).
  3. §46.1.13.prin id dumtaxat tibi obligatus ero, quod a Titio seruare non potueris — The adverb `dumtaxat` (only, to the extent of) modifies `in id` to place a restriction. `quod` is a relative pronoun (neuter accusative) referring back to `id`. In this context, `seruare` means "to recover" or "to secure (the debt)," indicating that the mandator's liability is limited to the residual amount that could not be recovered from Titius.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.1.13.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.1.13.pr

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