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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.10.32.pr

Actions for Injury against Magistrates in and after Office

Passage 8034 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the liability of magistrates for injuries, stating that high-ranking magistrates with immunity can only be sued after they leave office, whereas minor magistrates without imperium or potestas can be sued even while in office.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragensimo secundo ad Sabinum. ] §47.10.32.prNec magistratibus licet aliquid iniuriose facere.
[ULPIAN in the forty-second book on Sabinus.] It is not permitted for magistrates either to do anything injuriously.
si quid igitur per iniuriam fecerit magistratus uel quasi priuatus uel fiducia magistratus, iniuriarum potest conueniri.
Therefore, if a magistrate has done anything injuriously, whether as if a private person or by reliance on his magistracy, he can be sued for injury.
sed utrum posito magistratu an uero et quamdiu est in magistratu? sed uerius est, si is magistratus est, qui sine fraude in ius uocari non potest, exspectandum esse, quoad magistratu abeat.
But is this after he has laid down his magistracy, or indeed even while he is in office? But the more correct view is that, if he is a magistrate who cannot be summoned before the court without liability, one must wait until he retires from office.
quod et si ex minoribus magistratibus erit, id est qui sine imperio aut potestate sunt magistratus, et in ipso magistratu posse eos conueniri.
On the other hand, if he is one of the minor magistrates, that is, those who are magistrates without imperium or potestate, they can be sued even during their magistracy.

Notes

  1. §47.10.32.prposito magistratu — An ablative absolute construction consisting of *posito*, the perfect participle of *ponere* (to lay down, resign), and *magistratu* (magistracy). It means "after having laid down the magistracy."
  2. §47.10.32.prsine fraude — Literally "without fraud," but in a legal context, it means "without liability" or "without penalty," referring to the illegality or negative consequences for the summoner of calling a high-ranking magistrate who enjoys immunity in office.
  3. §47.10.32.prquod et si ... posse eos conueniri — Led by the connecting relative pronoun *quod* at the beginning of the sentence. The accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction *posse eos conueniri* (that they can be sued) continues from the governing verb *uerius est* (it is more correct) in the preceding sentence, functioning as a subject clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.10.32.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.10.32.pr

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