Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.10.35.pr

Sanctions for Severe Injury by Those Disregarding Lawsuits

Passage 8037 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses that if a person who commits an atrocious injury is likely to disregard a civil lawsuit due to poverty or infamy, the praetor must vigorously pursue the case and impose sanctions.

[ULPIANUS libro tertio de omnibus tribunalibus. ] §47.10.35.prSi quis iniuriam atrocem fecerit, qui contemnere iniuriarum iudicium possit ob infamiam suam et egestatem, praetor acriter exequi hanc rem debet et eos, qui iniuriam fecerunt, coercere.
[ULPIANUS in the third book on all tribunals.] If someone has committed an atrocious injury, who is of such a character that he can despise the action for injuries because of his own infamy and poverty, the praetor ought to pursue this matter vigorously and coerce those who committed the injury.

Notes

  1. §47.10.35.prqui contemnere iniuriarum iudicium possit — The relative pronoun `qui` takes `quis` in the conditional clause as its antecedent. The subjunctive `possit` is a subjunctive of characteristic, defining the type of person who would disregard the action. Since the `iniuriarum iudicium` (action for injuries) is a civil action seeking pecuniary penalty, a defendant who is already infamous (`infamia`) and impoverished (`egestas`) might despise (`contemnere`) it as practically ineffective against them.
  2. §47.10.35.prpraetor acriter exequi hanc rem debet et eos, qui iniuriam fecerunt, coercere — The governing verb `debet` controls both complementary infinitives `exequi` and `coercere`. Although the subject in the conditional clause is singular (`quis`), the target of the coercion in the main clause shifts to the plural `eos, qui iniuriam fecerunt`. This shift in number generalizes the wrongdoers (including potential accomplices) who are subject to the praetor's police power (`coercitio`).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.10.35.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.10.35.pr

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