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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.7.6.pr-47.7.6.2

Liability for Tree-Felling and Roots Extending into Land

Passage 7974 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

On the cumulative liability of multiple tree-fellers, the non-cumulative nature of penalties for co-owned trees, and the ownership and legal remedies regarding a tree whose roots extend into a neighbor's land.

[POMPONIUS libro uicensimo ad Sabinum. ] §47.7.6.prSi plures eandem arborem furtim ceciderint, cum singulis in solidum agetur.
[POMPONIUS on Sabinus, book 20] If several persons have secretly cut down the same tree, action will be brought against each of them for the whole amount.
§47.7.6.1At si eadem arbor plurium fuerit, uniuersis dumtaxat una et semel poena praestabitur.
But if the same tree belonged to several persons, only one penalty will be paid once to all of them.
§47.7.6.2Si arbor in uicini fundum radices porrexit, recidere eas uicino non licebit, agere autem licebit non esse ei ius (sicuti tignum aut protectum) inmissum habere.
If a tree has extended its roots into a neighbor's land, it will not be permitted for the neighbor to cut them back, but it will be permitted to bring an action declaring that he has no right to have them projected, just as in the case of a beam or a projection.
si radicibus uicini arbor aletur, tamen eius est, in cuius fundo origo eius fuerit.
If the tree is nourished by the roots in the neighbor's land, it nevertheless belongs to him in whose land its origin was.

Notes

  1. §47.7.6.prin solidum agetur — An impersonal passive construction. 'in solidum' (for the whole amount) indicates that when multiple wrongdoers commit a delict together, they are cumulatively liable, allowing the plaintiff to bring an action for the full amount against each of them.
  2. §47.7.6.1uniuersis dumtaxat una et semel poena praestabitur — 'uniuersis' is a dative referring to all co-owners. It indicates that when the victims are multiple (co-owners), the penalty imposed for the infringement is limited to only once and a single penalty (una et semel) for all of them, rather than being multiplied by the number of owners.
  3. §47.7.6.2non esse ei ius ... inmissum habere — An accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction forming the substance of a negative action (actio negatoria). With 'ei' (the tree owner) as the subject, it asserts that he has no right to have the roots projected, in analogy to a beam (tignum) or a projection (protectum).
  4. §47.7.6.2eius est, in cuius fundo origo eius fuerit — The first 'eius' is a possessory genitive meaning 'belongs to him'. The second 'eius' refers to the tree. It expresses the rule of accession that even if a tree is nourished by a neighbor's soil, its ownership remains with the owner of the land where its origin (origo) is located.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.7.6.pr-47.7.6.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.7.6.pr-47.7.6.2

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