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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.10.7.pr

Right of Slaves to Accuse Concealment of Wills

Passage 8273 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that while slaves generally cannot stand in court against their masters, an exception was made by emperors Marcus and Commodus allowing them to accuse those who suppress a will granting them freedom.

[MARCIANUS libro secundo institutionum. ] §48.10.7.prNullo modo serui cum dominis suis consistere possunt, cum ne quidem omnino iure ciuili neque iure praetorio neque extra ordinem computantur: praeterquam quod fauorabiliter diui Marcus et Commodus rescripserunt, cum seruus quereretur, quod tabulae testamenti, quibus ei data erat libertas, subprimerentur, admittendum ad suppressi testamenti accusationem.
[MARCIANUS, Institutes, Book II] In no way can slaves stand in court against their own masters, since they are not even counted at all under civil law, nor under praetorian law, nor in extraordinary proceedings: except for the fact that the deified Marcus and Commodus favorably replied by rescript that, when a slave complained that the tablets of a will, by which freedom had been given to him, were being suppressed, he should be admitted to the accusation of the suppressed will.

Notes

  1. §48.10.7.prconsistere — Here it means 'to stand in court against, to confront as a party to a lawsuit' in a procedural sense.
  2. §48.10.7.prextra ordinem — Refers to 'extraordinary proceedings' (cognitio extra ordinem), which were conducted outside the ordinary formulaic system under the direct authority of imperial officials or the emperor.
  3. §48.10.7.pradmittendum — An accusative with infinitive construction with esse omitted after the gerundive admittendum. Contextually, the subject of the preceding clause seruus is understood as the accusative subject seruum of the gerundive ('that the slave should be admitted').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.10.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.10.7.pr

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