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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.2.2.pr

Requirement of Intention to Novate and Coexistence of Debts

Passage 7623 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage explains the broad scope of obligations that can undergo novation and emphasizes that a novation only occurs if the parties specifically intend to replace the obligation, otherwise both obligations will co-exist.

[IDEM libro quadragensimo octauo ad Sabinum. ] §46.2.2.prOmnes res transire in nouationem possunt: quodcumque enim siue uerbis contractum est siue non uerbis, nouari potest et transire in uerborum obligationem ex quacumque obligatione, dummodo sciamus nouationem ita demum fieri, si hoc agatur, ut nouetur obligatio: ceterum si non hoc agatur, duae erunt obligationes.
[THE SAME, in the forty-eighth book on Sabinus.] All matters can pass into a novation: for whatever has been contracted either by words or not by words can be novated and pass into a verbal obligation from any obligation whatsoever, provided we know that a novation only takes place if this is intended, namely, that the obligation be novated; but if this is not intended, there will be two obligations.

Notes

  1. §46.2.2.prita demum fieri, si hoc agatur, ut nouetur obligatio — The construction 'ita demum..., si...' expresses a strict conditional relation, meaning 'only if..., then...' or 'takes place only if...'. The clause 'hoc agatur' (present subjunctive passive) means 'this is intended/aimed at,' with its content explained by the subsequent appositional ut-clause 'ut nouetur obligatio' ('that the obligation be novated'). This is a key passage establishing the legal requirement of the intention to novate (animus novandi).
  2. §46.2.2.prtransire in uerborum obligationem — Literally 'to pass into an obligation of words (verbal obligation)'. Since novation (novatio) in Roman law was fundamentally executed through the oral form of a stipulation (stipulatio), this phrase describes how any pre-existing obligation, regardless of its original form, is converted into a verbal obligation.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.2.2.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.2.2.pr

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