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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.10.6.pr

Anonymous Defamation and the Relation of Public and Civil Actions

Passage 8005 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the necessity of the senatorial decree in cases of anonymous defamation where proof is difficult, and discusses the relationship and mutual exclusion between public and private actions.

[PAULUS libro quinquagensimo quinto ad edictum. ] §47.10.6.prQuod senatus consultum necessarium est, cum nomen adiectum non est eius, in quem factum est: tunc ei, quia difficilis probatio est, uoluit senatus publica quaestione rem uindicari.
[PAULUS, On the Edict, book fifty-five.] This decree of the senate is necessary when the name of the person against whom it was made is not added; at that time, because proof is difficult, the senate wished the matter to be prosecuted by a public inquiry for his benefit.
ceterum si nomen adiectum sit, et iure communi iniuriarum agi poterit: nec enim prohibendus est priuato agere iudicio, quod publico iudicio praeiudicatur, quia ad priuatam causam pertinet.
Otherwise, if the name is added, an action for iniuriae can also be brought under the common law. For he should not be prohibited from suing in a private action on the ground that a prejudgment is made by a public trial, because it concerns a private matter.
plane si actum sit publico iudicio, denegandum est priuatum: similiter ex diuerso.
Clearly, if proceedings have been taken by a public trial, the private action must be denied; and similarly vice versa.

Notes

  1. §47.10.6.prQuod senatus consultum — The relative pronoun Quod at the beginning of the sentence is used adjectivally to refer back to the senatorial decree mentioned in the preceding paragraph (§47.10.5.10).
  2. §47.10.6.prrem uindicari — An accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction serving as the object of the main verb uoluit (whose subject is senatus). The noun rem is the subject accusative of the passive infinitive uindicari.
  3. §47.10.6.prquod publico iudicio praeiudicatur — quod is a causal conjunction ("on the ground that"). praeiudicatur is an impersonal passive ("a prejudgment is made"). This clause explains the reason for which a private action should not be barred despite the potential prejudgment by a public trial.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.10.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.10.6.pr

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