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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.1.21.pr-49.1.21.3

Proper Order of Appeals and Temporary Measures Pending Review

Passage 8485 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section outlines imperial rescripts regarding the proper order of appeals, the temporary assumption of duties during appeals by magistrates or curators, and the exceptional sequestration of agricultural fruits when tenants are harassed.

[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS libro primo de constitutionibus. ] §49.1.21.prImperatores Antoninus et Uerus rescripserunt appellationes, quae recto ad principem factae sunt omissis his, ad quos debuerunt fieri ex imo ordine, ad praesides remitti.
[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS, On Constitutions, Book I.] The Emperors Antoninus and Verus issued a rescript stating that appeals which were made directly to the emperor, bypassing those to whom they ought to have been made from the lowest grade of order, must be referred back to the provincial governors.
§49.1.21.1Idem rescripserunt ab iudice, quem a praeside prouinciae quis acceperat, non recte imperatorem appellatum esse ideoque reuerti eum ad praesidem debere.
They also issued a rescript that an appeal to the emperor was not correctly made from a judge whom someone had received from the provincial governor, and therefore he must return to the governor.
§49.1.21.2Si magistratus creatus appellauerit, collegam eius interim utriusque officium sustinere debere: si uterque appellauerit, alium interim in locum eorum creandum: et eum, qui non iuste appellauerit, damnum adgniturum, si quod res publica passa sit: si uero iusta sit appellatio et hoc pronuntietur, eos aestimaturos, cui hoc adscribendum sit.
If an elected magistrate appeals, his colleague must in the meantime support the duties of both; if both appeal, another must in the meantime be elected in their place; and he who appeals without justification shall acknowledge the damage, if the state has suffered any; but if the appeal is justified and this is pronounced, they (the emperors) will assess to whom this should be imputed.
in locum autem curatoris, qui annonam administraturus est, alium interim adsumendum, quoad usque appellatio pendeat.
Moreover, in place of a curator who is to administer the grain supply, another must in the meantime be appointed, so long as the appeal is pending.
§49.1.21.3Idem rescripserunt, quamuis usitatum non sit post appellationem fructus agri, de quo disceptatio sit, deponi, tamen, cum populi traherentur ab aduersario, aequum sibi uideri fructus apud sequestres deponi.
They also issued a rescript that, although it is not customary after an appeal for the fruits of the land in dispute to be deposited, nevertheless, when the tenants are being harassed by the adversary, it seems equitable to them that the fruits be deposited with sequestrators.

Notes

  1. §49.1.21.promissis his, ad quos debuerunt fieri ex imo ordine — omissis his is an ablative absolute construction where his is the antecedent modified by the relative clause beginning with ad quos. ex imo ordine means 'from the lowest grade of order', reflecting the administrative principle that appeals must ascend step-by-step through the lower magistracies.
  2. §49.1.21.2eos aestimaturos — An accusative with infinitive construction consisting of the future active participle aestimaturos with esse omitted. The accusative subject eos refers contextually to the Emperors (Imperatores) who make the judgment.
  3. §49.1.21.3populi traherentur — While populi generally means 'peoples' or 'masses', here it refers to 'tenants' or 'cultivators' working on the disputed land. traherentur is the passive imperfect subjunctive meaning 'were being harassed' or 'were being plundered'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.1.21.pr-49.1.21.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.1.21.pr-49.1.21.3

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