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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.8.17.pr

Partial Ratification of Agent's Claim and Extinction

Passage 7848 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the partial consumption of an obligation and the validity of a legal action when an agent claims a part of a debt in the principal's absence, and the principal subsequently ratifies only that part.

[MARCELLUS libro uicensimo primo digestorum. ] §46.8.17.prCum debitore decem creditoris nomine Titius egit: partem petitionis ratam habuit dominus.
[MARCELLUS, Digest, Book XXI] Titius brought an action against a debtor for ten in the name of the creditor; the principal ratified part of the claim.
dicendum est obligationis partem consumptam, quemadmodum si decem stipulatus esset aut exegisset creditorque non totum, sed partem gestae rei comprobasset.
It must be said that part of the obligation is consumed, just as if an agent had contracted for ten or had exacted it, and the creditor had approved not the whole, but part of what was done.
idcirco si ex stipulatu 'decem aut Stichum, utrum ego uoluero' absente me Titius domino quinque petisset, insecuta ratihabitione recte actum uideri.
Therefore, if Titius, in my absence, had claimed five for the principal on the basis of a stipulation 'ten or Stichus, whichever I shall wish', and ratification followed, the action must be seen to have been properly brought.

Notes

  1. §46.8.17.probligationis partem consumptam — Refers to the litigious consumption (consumptio) of an obligation arising from the joinder of issue (litis contestatio) in Roman law. The principal's partial ratification of the agent's claim means that the original obligation is extinguished to that extent.
  2. §46.8.17.prsi decem stipulatus esset aut exegisset — The subject of the verbs `stipulatus esset` and `exegisset` in the conditional clause is the unauthorized agent (gestor). This is distinct from the subject of the subsequent clause, `creditor... comprobasset` (and the creditor... approved), showing a structure where the creditor subsequently approves the act (gesta res) performed by the agent.
  3. §46.8.17.prdomino — Dative of benefit, meaning "for the principal (owner)." The pronoun `me` in the preceding absolute ablative `absente me` (in my absence) refers to this `dominus`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.8.17.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.8.17.pr

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