Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.2.15.pr-47.2.15.2

Action for Theft by Pledgees and Holders with Retention Rights

Passage 7876 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage discusses the creditor's right to bring an action for theft for the full value of a stolen pledge and his duty to refund the excess to the debtor, the owner's liability for stealing a thing subject to another's usufruct, and the borrower's right to bring an action for theft against the lending owner when holding a right of retention.

[PAULUS libro quinto ad Sabinum. ] §47.2.15.prCreditoris, cuius pignus subreptum est, non credito tenus interest, sed omnimodo in solidum furti agere potest: sed et pigneraticia actione id quod debitum excedit debitori praestabit.
[PAULUS in the fifth book on Sabinus.] The interest of a creditor whose pledge has been stolen is not limited to the amount of the debt, but he can sue for theft for the whole amount in every way; but he shall also make good to the debtor, by the action on pledge, that which exceeds the debt.
§47.2.15.1Dominus, qui rem subripuit, in qua usus fructus alienus est, furti usufructuario tenetur.
An owner who has stolen a thing in which another person has a usufruct is liable for theft to the usufructuary.
§47.2.15.2Sed eum qui tibi commodauerit, si eam rem subripiat, non teneri furti placuisse Pomponius scripsit, quoniam nihil tua interesset, utpote cum nec commodati tenearis.
But Pomponius wrote that it was accepted that he who lent a thing to you is not liable for theft if he steals that thing, since you would have no interest, inasmuch as you are not even held liable under the loan.
ergo si ob aliquas impensas, quas in rem commodatam fecisti, retentionem eius habueris, etiam cum ipso domino, si eam subripiat, habebis furti actionem, quia eo casu quasi pignoris loco ea res fuit.
Therefore, if on account of any expenses which you have incurred on the thing lent you have a right of retention over it, you will have the action for theft even against the owner himself if he steals it, because in that case the thing was, as it were, in the position of a pledge.

Notes

  1. §47.2.15.prCreditoris — In the construction of the impersonal verb interest, the person who has an interest is expressed in the genitive case; hence, Creditoris is in the genitive.
  2. §47.2.15.2tua — In the interest construction, when the person who has an interest is a first or second person singular pronoun, the ablative singular feminine of the possessive pronoun (tua) is used instead of the genitive (tui).
  3. §47.2.15.2commodati — This can be understood either as a genitive of charge/responsibility modifying tenearis (passive of tenere, meaning "to be held liable"), or as an ellipse of actione commodati ("by the action on loan"), meaning "since you are not held liable under the loan."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.2.15.pr-47.2.15.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.2.15.pr-47.2.15.2

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