Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.2.18.pr

Noxal Liability Following the Slave and Sale by the Victim

Passage 7879 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the scope of the rule "liability follows the person of the wrongdoer" and whether a victim who becomes the master of the wrongdoing slave and subsequently sells him can bring an action against the buyer, citing the view of the Cassians.

[PAULUS libro nono ad Sabinum. ] §47.2.18.prQuod dicitur noxam caput sequi, tunc uerum est, ut quae initio aduersus aliquem nata est caput nocentis sequatur: ideoque si seruus tuus furtum mihi fecerit et dominus eius effectus eum uendidero, non posse me agere cum emptore Cassiani putant.
[PAULUS in the ninth book on Sabinus.] The saying that "liability follows the person of the wrongdoer" is true only in such a way that the action which arose at the beginning against someone follows the person of the wrongdoer. Therefore, if your slave has committed theft against me, and I, having become his master, sell him, the followers of Cassius think that I cannot bring an action against the buyer.

Notes

  1. §47.2.18.prnoxam caput sequi — An accusative with infinitive clause representing the Roman legal maxim "liability follows the person of the wrongdoer". It means that if the slave is alienated, the liability for the noxal action shifts to the new master who has power over the slave.
  2. §47.2.18.prquae initio aduersus aliquem nata est — The antecedent of the relative pronoun quae is omitted. Since the verb nata est is feminine singular, and following the discussion in the previous section, the omitted noun is understood to be actio (action). It is translated as "the action which arose at the beginning against someone."
  3. §47.2.18.prdominus eius effectus — The participle effectus is a perfect passive participle (nominative singular masculine) agreeing with the subject of the main verb uendidero (first person singular). It is interpreted as a temporal or conditional circumstantial clause: "and I, having become his master, [sell him]."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.2.18.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.2.18.pr

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