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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.5.1.pr-49.5.1.1

Standing to Appeal and Appeals by Mothers

Passage 8502 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text lays down the general rule of who has standing to appeal (interested parties, mandataries, or unauthorized agents whose acts are ratified) and discusses the exceptional allowance for a mother to appeal and assist in preparing a lawsuit on behalf of her son.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo nono ad edictum. ] §49.5.1.prNon solent audiri appellantes nisi hi, quorum interest uel quibus mandatum est uel qui negotium alienum gerunt, quod mox ratum habetur.
[ULPIAN, On the Edict, Book 29.] Those who appeal are not accustomed to be heard, unless they are persons who have an interest, or who have been given a mandate, or who manage the affairs of another which are subsequently ratified.
§49.5.1.1Sed et cum mater filii rem sententia euersam animaduerteret, prouocauerit, pietati dandum est et hanc audiri debere: et si litem praeparandam curare maluerit, intercedere non uidetur, licet ab initio defendere non potest.
But also when a mother, noticing that her son's case was ruined by a sentence, has appealed, this must be granted to family affection, and she ought to be heard; and if she has preferred to take care of preparing the lawsuit, she is not deemed to intercede, although she cannot defend from the beginning.

Notes

  1. §49.5.1.prquod mox ratum habetur — The antecedent of the relative pronoun quod is the neuter noun negotium. The phrase ratum habere is a legal idiom meaning "to ratify"; here used in the passive (ratum habetur), it means "which is soon ratified (by the principal)."
  2. §49.5.1.1pietati dandum est et hanc audiri debere — The phrase pietati dandum est is an impersonal expression meaning "it must be granted to (maternal) affection." The following et hanc audiri debere is an accusative-with-infinitive construction showing the logical consequence ("and that she too ought to be heard"). The pronoun hanc (accusative) refers to the mother (mater).
  3. §49.5.1.1intercedere non uidetur — The verb intercedere refers to "interceding" or "undertaking liability for another" in Roman law, an activity generally forbidden to women (under the Senatus Consultum Velleianum). Here it means that preparing the lawsuit on behalf of her son is not deemed to constitute such an prohibited or illicit "interposition."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.5.1.pr-49.5.1.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.5.1.pr-49.5.1.1

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