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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.11.8.pr-48.11.8.1

Bar on Usucapion of Illegal Gifts and Voiding Sham Deals

Passage 8307 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section prohibits the acquisition by usucapion of things gifted to officials in violation of the extortion law, voids sham sales or leases made at improper prices to evade the law, and bars usucapion until the property is restored to its original owner.

[PAULUS libro quinquagensimo quarto ad edictum. ] §48.11.8.prQuod contra legem repetundarum proconsuli uel praetori donatum est, non poterit usu capi.
[PAULUS, in the fifty-fourth book on the Edict.] What has been given to a proconsul or a praetor contrary to the law on extortion cannot be acquired by usucapion.
§48.11.8.1Eadem lex uenditiones locationes eius rei causa pluris minorisue factas irritas facit impeditque usucapionem, priusquam in potestatem eius, a quo profecta res sit, heredisue eius ueniat.
The same law voids sales and leases made for that purpose at a higher or lower price, and prevents usucapion until the property comes into the power of the person from whom it came, or of his heir.

Notes

  1. §48.11.8.prusu capi — usu is the ablative singular of usus, and capi is the present passive infinitive of capio. Together they form the passive construction 'to be acquired by usucapion', serving as the complement to the verb poterit.
  2. §48.11.8.1eius rei causa — A construction of genitive + causa expressing purpose. eius rei ('of that matter') refers to evading the extortion law by engaging in unfair transactions as a substitute for bribes.
  3. §48.11.8.1pluris minorisue — Genitives of value (or price), indicating that the transactions were made at a 'higher or lower price' than the fair market value.
  4. §48.11.8.1a quo profecta res sit — a quo is a prepositional phrase indicating origin ('from whom'). profecta sit is the perfect subjunctive of the deponent verb proficisci ('to originate', 'to depart'). The entire relative clause refers to the person 'from whom the property came', i.e., the original owner.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.11.8.pr-48.11.8.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.11.8.pr-48.11.8.1

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