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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.14.13.pr-49.14.13.10

Voluntary Disclosure of Uninheritable Legacies and Rewards

Passage 8534 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text explains the reward system for the voluntary disclosure of uninheritable legacies under the Lex Iulia et Papia, detailing rules on succession to heirs, distinction from informants, and exclusion of unworthy declarants based on imperial edicts and rescripts.

[PAULUS libro septimo ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §49.14.13.prEdicto diui Traiani, quod proposui, significatur, ut, si quis, antequam causa eius ad aerarium deferatur, professus esset eam rem quam possideret capere sibi non licere, ex ea partem fisco inferret, partem ipse retineret.
[PAULUS, On the Julian and Papian Law, Book VII.] In the edict of the divine Trajan, which I have set forth, it is indicated that if anyone, before his case is reported to the public treasury, has declared that he is not allowed to take that property which he possesses, he should bring a part of it into the imperial treasury, and retain a part himself.
§49.14.13.1Idem postea edicto significauit, ut, quaecumque professa esset uel palam uel tacite relictum sibi quod capere non posset et probasset iam id ad fiscum pertinere: etiamsi id non possideret, ex eo, quod redactum esset a praefectis aerario, partem dimidiam ferat.
The same emperor later indicated in an edict that whichever woman has declared, either openly or tacitly, that what she cannot take was bequeathed to her, and has proved that it already belongs to the imperial treasury, even if she does not possess it, she should receive a half share from that which has been recovered by the prefects of the public treasury.
§49.14.13.2Nihil autem interest, quae causa impediat ius capiendi.
But it makes no difference what cause impedes the right of taking.
§49.14.13.3Id autem deferri debet, quod latet, non id quod fisci est.
However, that which is hidden ought to be reported, not that which already belongs to the imperial treasury.
§49.14.13.4Ad heredes eius, qui se detulerat, non uidebatur praemium transire: sed diuus Hadrianus rescripsit, ut, licet ante decessisset is qui se detulerat, antequam id quod detulerat fisco addiceretur, heredi eius praemium daretur.
It did not seem that the reward passed to the heirs of the person who had reported himself; but the divine Hadrian wrote in a rescript that, although the person who had reported himself died before that which he had reported was adjudged to the imperial treasury, the reward should be given to his heir.
§49.14.13.5Exstat eiusdem Hadriani epistula, ut, si is qui se deferre poterat morte praeuentus fuerit, heres eius, si detulerit, praemium consequatur: 'si tamen', inquit, 'liquebit defunctum eius animi fuisse, ut se uellet deferre': si uero idcirco dissimulauerit, dum rem occultari sperat, heredem eius ultra uulgare praemium nihil consecuturum.
There exists a letter of the same Hadrian to the effect that, if the person who was able to report himself has been prevented by death, his heir, if he reports it, should obtain the reward: "if, however," he says, "it is clear that the deceased was of such a mind that he wished to report himself"; but if indeed he dissembled for this purpose, while he hoped that the matter would remain hidden, his heir will obtain nothing beyond the ordinary reward.
§49.14.13.6Item diui fratres rescripserunt heredes eorum, quibus tacitum fideicommissum relictum est, ita demum ex beneficio Traiani deferre se posse, si is, cui datum fuerat, morte praeuentus esset et ideo per angustias temporis deferre se non potuerit.
Likewise, the divine brothers wrote in a rescript that the heirs of those to whom a tacit trust was bequeathed can only report based on the benefit of Trajan if the person to whom it had been given was prevented by death and therefore could not report because of the constraint of time.
§49.14.13.7Cum ante apertum testamentum tacitum fideicommissum nuntiatum esset ab his, qui fidem tacitam susceperunt, deinde post apertas a fideicommissario delatum esset, diuus Antoninus recipi professionem eius iussit: neque enim dignam esse praemio tam praecipitem festinationem prioris, et cum quis se nuntiet non capere, potius confiteri de suo iure quam aliud deferre uidetur.
When, before the opening of the will, a tacit trust was denounced by those who had undertaken the tacit obligation, and then after the opening it was reported by the beneficiary of the trust, the divine Antoninus ordered that the beneficiary's declaration be accepted; for indeed, the headlong haste of the former was not worthy of a reward, and when someone reports that he himself does not take, he seems to be confessing concerning his own right rather than reporting another's case.
§49.14.13.8Ad eos beneficium Traiani pertinet, qui ex defuncti uoluntate relictum sibi capere non possunt.
The benefit of Trajan belongs to those who, according to the will of the deceased, cannot take what was bequeathed to them.
ergo nec illud, quod seruo meo relictum est, deferre potero.
Therefore, I will not be able to report that which was bequeathed to my slave.
§49.14.13.9Eos, qui quasi indigni repelluntur, summouendos esse ab eiusmodi praemio: id est eos, qui de inofficioso egerunt uel falsum dixerunt testamentum, qui usque ad finem litis obpugnauerunt testamentum.
Those who are rejected as if unworthy are to be excluded from this kind of reward: that is, those who have brought an action against an undutiful will or have alleged that the will was forged, and who have attacked the will up to the end of the lawsuit.
§49.14.13.10Ei, qui per errorem se detulit, cum capere solidum posset, non nocere hoc diuus Hadrianus et diuus Pius et fratres rescripserunt.
The divine Hadrian, the divine Pius, and the brothers wrote in a rescript that it does not harm him who, through error, reported himself, although he was able to take the whole.

Notes

  1. 49.14.13.1quaecumque professa esset — `quaecumque` is the feminine singular nominative of the relative pronoun. This refers specifically to a woman subject to capacity restrictions (`capere non posse`) under the marriage laws (Lex Iulia et Papia), or it may imply the omission of `persona`. Given the legal context of the Lex Iulia et Papia, where women's capacity to take under a will was frequently restricted, a female declarant is specifically envisioned here.
  2. 49.14.13.5eius animi fuisse — `eius animi` is a genitive of quality, which, together with the copula `fuisse` in the accusative-and-infinitive construction, indicates "having had such an intention". The following `ut se uellet deferre` clause explains the specific content of this intention.
  3. 49.14.13.7post apertas — `apertas` is a feminine plural accusative adjective, where `tabulas` (the tablets of the will) is omitted. It means "after the tablets [of the will] had been opened".
  4. 49.14.13.7potius confiteri de suo iure quam aliud deferre — `aliud` is the neuter accusative singular meaning "the case of another" or "something else". It contrasts "denouncing another's incapacity" (`aliud deferre`) with "confessing concerning one's own right" (`confiteri de suo iure`), distinguishing between voluntary disclosure of one's own restriction and the denunciation of others.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.14.13.pr-49.14.13.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.14.13.pr-49.14.13.10

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