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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.11.7.pr-48.11.7.3

Prohibitions and Penalties for Judicial and Administrative Bribery

Passage 8306 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Macer explains that the Julia law on extortion strictly prohibits accepting money in various judicial and administrative matters, and describes the modern extraordinary punishments for this crime, as well as severe penalties for unlawful killings even without accepting money.

[MACER libro primo iudiciorum publicorum. ] §48.11.7.prLex Iulia de repetundis praecipit, ne quis ob iudicem arbitrumue dandum mutandum iubendumue ut iudicet: neue ob non dandum non mutandum non iubendum ut iudicet: neue ob hominem in uincula publica coiciendum uinciendum uinciriue iubendum exue uinculis dimittendum: neue quis ob hominem condemnandum absoluendumue: neue ob litem aestimandam iudiciumue capitis pecuniaeue faciendum uel non faciendum aliquid acceperit.
[MACER, in the first book of Public Trials.] The Julia law on extortion prescribes that no one shall accept anything for appointing or changing a judge or an arbiter, or ordering them to judge; or for not appointing, not changing, or not ordering them to judge; or for throwing a person into public prison, binding him, ordering him to be bound, or releasing him from prison; or for condemning or absolving a person; or for assessing the amount of litigation, or holding or not holding a trial involving life or money.
§48.11.7.1Apparet autem, quod lex ab exceptis quidem in infinitum capere permittit, ab his autem, qui hoc capite enumerantur,a nullo neque ullam quantitatem capere permittit.
It is clear, however, that while the law indeed permits taking without limit from those who are excepted, it does not permit taking from any of those who are enumerated in this chapter, nor does it allow taking any amount from them.
§48.11.7.2Illud quoque cauetur, ne in acceptum feratur opus publicum faciendum, frumentum publice dandum praebendum adpraehendendum, sarta tecta tuenda, antequam perfecta probata praestita lege erunt.
It is also provided that the execution of a public work, the public delivery, supply, and procurement of grain, or the maintenance of buildings in good repair shall not be entered as received, before they have been completed, approved, and delivered in accordance with the law.
H §48.11.7.3odie ex lege repetundarum extra ordinem puniuntur et plerumque uel exilio puniuntur uel etiam durius, prout admiserint.
H Today, under the law on extortion, they are punished extraordinarily, and are generally punished either by exile or even more severely, according to what they have committed.
quid enim, si ob hominem necandum pecuniam acceperint? uel, licet non acceperint, calore tamen inducti interfecerint uel innocentem uel quem punire non debuerant? capite plecti debent uel certe in insulam deportari, ut plerique puniti sunt.
For what if they accepted money to kill a man? Or, even if they did not accept it, yet influenced by the heat of passion they killed either an innocent person or one whom they ought not to have punished? They ought to be punished capitally, or at least deported to an island, as most of them have been punished.

Notes

  1. §48.11.7.prob iudicem arbitrumue dandum mutandum iubendumue ut iudicet — The preposition `ob` (on account of) governs the accusative nouns `iudicem arbitrumue`, which are in agreement with the coordinated gerundives `dandum`, `mutandum`, and `iubendum`. The gerundive `iubendum` is further followed by the object clause `ut iudicet` (to judge), meaning 'ordering them to judge'. This structure of accusative nouns with gerundives under the preposition `ob` is repeated throughout the section.
  2. §48.11.7.prexue uinculis — The reading `exue uinculis` in the manuscripts is understood as a corruption or spelling variant of `ex uinculis` (from chains/prison), likely influenced by the verb `exuere` (to strip, release). Semantically, it goes with the following gerundive `dimittendum` to mean 'releasing from prison'.
  3. §48.11.7.2in acceptum feratur — This is the passive of the Roman bookkeeping and commercial idiom `in acceptum ferre` (to enter as received / to credit). In a legal context, it means 'to be accepted or approved as performed'. Here it prohibits officially accepting or certifying public works and supplies as completed before they are legally finished.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.11.7.pr-48.11.7.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.11.7.pr-48.11.7.3

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