Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.7.21.pr

Application of Clauses in Cases of Partial Defense

Passage 7831 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The author discusses how the 'undefended suit clause' and 'judgment clause' apply when there are multiple sureties or heirs, and some defend the case while others do not.

[IDEM libro singulari quaestionum publice tractatarum. ] §46.7.21.prSi unus ex fideiussoribus ob rem non defensam conuentus sit, deinde postea res defendatur, alter fideiussorum ob rem iudicatam conueniri potest.
[THE SAME, Single Book on Questions Publicly Discussed.] If one of the sureties has been sued on account of an undefended case, and then afterwards the case is defended, the other of the sureties can be sued on account of the judgment.
et si reus promittendi duobus heredibus relictis decesserit, alter rem non defendat, alter defendat: is qui non defendat ob rem non defensam conueniri potest, ille qui defendat ob rem iudicatam, quoniam in unius eiusdemque persona non posse committi has duas clausulas creditur et nos dicimus semper praeualere rei iudicatae clausulam eamque solam committi.
And if the promisor dies leaving two heirs, and one does not defend the case while the other does defend it: the one who does not defend can be sued on account of the undefended case, and the one who defends, on account of the judgment, since it is believed that these two clauses cannot be forfeited in the person of one and the same individual, and we say that the clause of the judgment always prevails and that it alone is forfeited.

Notes

  1. §46.7.21.prob rem non defensam / ob rem iudicatam — Although literally translated as 'on account of an undefended matter' and 'on account of a judged matter', the past participles (defensam, iudicatam) modifying the noun (rem) express the events themselves ('the fact of not defending', 'the fact of a judgment being rendered') (the so-called *ab urbe condita* construction). These refer to the 'undefended suit' and 'judgment' clauses that trigger liability under the stipulation.
  2. §46.7.21.prnon posse committi has duas clausulas creditur — The passive verb creditur is used impersonally ('it is believed'), taking the accusative-with-infinitive (AcI) clause has duas clausulas non posse committi as its subject or complement. committi here means the 'forfeiture' or 'activation' of the legal clauses.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.7.21.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.7.21.pr

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