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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.1.27.pr-46.1.27.4

Benefit of Division with Conditional and Sub-Sureties

Passage 7575 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the application of the benefit of division when there are co-sureties bound under a term or condition, and details the rules for dividing obligations when sub-sureties (sureties of sureties) are involved.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo secundo ad edictum. ] §46.1.27.prSi plures sint fideiussores, unus pure, alius in diem uel sub condicione acceptus, succurri oportet ei, qui pure acceptus est, dum existere condicio potest, scilicet ut interim in uirilem conueniatur.
[ULPIAN in the twenty-second book on the Edict.] If there are several sureties, and one is accepted unconditionally, and another with a term or under a condition, relief should be given to him who was accepted unconditionally as long as the condition can still be fulfilled, namely, so that in the meantime he may be sued only for his virile share.
sed si, cum condicio exstitit, non est soluendo qui sub condicione acceptus est, restituendam actionem in pure acceptum Pomponius scribit.
But if, when the condition has been fulfilled, the one who was accepted under the condition is not solvent, Pomponius writes that the action must be restored against the one who was accepted unconditionally.
§46.1.27.1Praeterea si fideiussor exstiterit fideiussori siue plures, aeque hic quoque pertinebit ad eandem causam: in quorum persona aeque locum habebunt ea, quae sunt a diuo Hadriano constituta.
Furthermore, if a surety should stand for a surety, or several should do so, here too the same rule will equally apply: in whose person the measures established by the Divine Hadrian will equally have place.
§46.1.27.2Praeterea si quaeratur, an soluendo sit principalis fideiussor, etiam uires sequentis fideiussoris ei adgregandae sunt.
Furthermore, if it is asked whether the principal surety is solvent, the resources of the subsequent surety must also be added to his.
§46.1.27.3Sicut ipsi fideiussori, ita heredibus quoque eorum succurrendum Pomponius scribit.
Pomponius writes that just as relief is given to the surety himself, so also must it be given to their heirs.
§46.1.27.4Si fideiussor fuerit principalis et fideiussor fideiussoris, non poterit desiderare fideiussor, ut inter se et eum fideiussorem, pro quo fideiussit, diuidatur obligatio: ille enim loco rei est nec potest reus desiderare, ut inter se et fideiussorem diuidatur obligatio.
If there is a principal surety and a surety of the surety, the surety cannot demand that the obligation be divided between himself and that surety for whom he became surety: for the latter is in the position of a principal debtor, and a principal debtor cannot demand that the obligation be divided between himself and a surety.
proinde si ex duobus fideiussoribus alter fideiussorem dederit, aduersus eum quidem non diuiditur obligatio, pro quo interuenit: aduersus confideiussorem magis est ut diuidatur.
Accordingly, if one of two co-sureties has provided a surety, the obligation is indeed not divided against the one for whom he intervened: but against the co-surety, it is more accepted that it should be divided.

Notes

  1. §46.1.27.prpure — Meaning 'unconditionally' or 'simply', referring to a surety's undertaking that takes effect immediately without any specific term (in diem) or condition (sub condicione).
  2. §46.1.27.prin uirilem conueniatur — An ellipsis for 'in uirilem partem conueniatur', meaning 'to be sued for one's equal share'. This refers to being liable for one's proportional share only, rather than the whole sum, based on the benefit of division. conueniatur is an impersonal passive subjunctive.
  3. §46.1.27.prnon est soluendo — An idiomatic construction of esse with the dative of the gerund (or gerundive) soluendo, meaning 'is not solvent' or 'lacks the means to pay'.
  4. §46.1.27.4non poterit desiderare fideiussor, ut inter se et eum fideiussorem, pro quo fideiussit, diuidatur obligatio — The first 'fideiussor' refers to the sub-surety (the surety's surety), while 'eum fideiussorem, pro quo fideiussit' refers to the principal surety for whom he intervened. It explains that the benefit of division cannot be claimed between them because the principal surety is effectively in the position of a principal debtor (loco rei) toward the sub-surety.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.1.27.pr-46.1.27.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.1.27.pr-46.1.27.4

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