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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.2.87.pr

Return of Stolen Property Unbeknownst to the Owner and Usucapion

Passage 7949 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that if a stolen or forcibly possessed object returns to an owner who is unaware of it, it is not deemed to have returned to their power, and thus usucapion does not apply even if it is subsequently sold to a bona fide purchaser.

[TRYPHONINUS libro nono disputationum. ] §47.2.87.prSi ad dominum ignorantem perueniret res furtiua uel ui possessa, non uideatur in potestatem domini reuersa, ideo nec si post talem domini possessionem bona fide ementi uenierit, usucapio sequitur.
[TRYPHONINUS, in the ninth book of Disputations.] If a stolen thing or one possessed by force should come to an owner who is unaware of it, it would not be deemed to have returned to the power of the owner; therefore, not even if, after such possession by the owner, it should be sold to a bona fide purchaser, does usucapion follow.

Notes

  1. §47.2.87.prperueniret — Imperfect subjunctive. It is used in juristic discourse to set up and present a hypothetical case.
  2. §47.2.87.prnon uideatur — Present subjunctive. It indicates a mild legal assertion or objective judgment ("should not be deemed" or "would not be deemed").
  3. §47.2.87.prementi — Dative singular of the present participle emens of the verb emo (to buy). It functions as a dative of interest or reference depending on the intransitive verb uenierit (to be sold), meaning "sold to a purchaser."
  4. §47.2.87.pruenierit — Third-person singular future perfect (or perfect subjunctive) of the intransitive verb ueneo (to be sold), which functions as the passive voice of uendo (to sell).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.2.87.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.2.87.pr

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