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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.2.93.pr

Criminal Prosecution and Civil Actions for Theft

Passage 7955 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian explains that theft is now mostly prosecuted criminally, with the accuser signing the charge, but clarifies that civil actions remain available for those who prefer them.

[ULPIANUS libro trigensimo octauo ad edictum. ] §47.2.93.prMeminisse oportebit nunc furti plerumque criminaliter agi et eum qui agit in crimen subscribere, non quasi publicum sit iudicium, sed quia uisum est temeritatem agentium etiam extraordinaria animaduersione coercendam.
[ULPIANUS, in his thirty-eighth book on the Edict.] will be necessary to remember that nowadays an action for theft is for the most part brought criminally, and that the person who brings the action must sign the accusation; not as if it were a public prosecution, but because it has been decided that the rashness of litigants should be checked even by extraordinary punishment.
non ideo tamen minus, si qui uelit, poterit ciuiliter agere.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that anyone who wishes cannot bring a civil action.

Notes

  1. §47.2.93.prfurti plerumque criminaliter agi — agi is a passive infinitive used impersonally, and furti is a genitive of charge, serving as the object of agere.
  2. §47.2.93.prnon quasi publicum sit iudicium — non quasi ('not as if') introduces a rejected hypothetical reason and takes the subjunctive sit. It indicates that criminal prosecution for theft under the extraordinary procedure was not classified as a public prosecution (iudicium publicum).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.2.93.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.2.93.pr

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