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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.8.3.pr-49.8.3.1

Invalidity of Impossible Judicial Orders and Needless Appeals

Passage 8513 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that an impossible order of a judge is void, and that it is groundless to appeal against a judgment which is physically impossible to obey.

[IDEM libro sexto decimo responsorum. ] §49.8.3.prPaulus respondit inpossibile praeceptum iudicis nullius esse momenti.
[THE SAME, Responses, Book XVI] Paulus responded that an impossible order of a judge is of no significance.
§49.8.3.1Idem respondit ab ea sententia, cui pareri rerum natura non potuit, sine causa appellari.
He also responded that an appeal from a sentence which, by the nature of things, could not be obeyed, is made without cause.

Notes

  1. §49.8.3.prnullius esse momenti — momenti is a genitive of quality (genitivus qualitatis) used predicatively with the verb esse, meaning "to be of no significance" or "to be void."
  2. §49.8.3.1cui pareri rerum natura non potuit — cui is a dative relative pronoun referring back to ea sententia. Since parere (to obey) governs the dative, its passive infinitive pareri is used impersonally here to mean "to be obeyed." The entire clause means "(a sentence) which, by the nature of things, could not be obeyed."
  3. §49.8.3.1appellari — This is an impersonal passive infinitive functioning as part of the accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on the main verb respondit. It means "that an appeal is made," which is modified by the adverbial phrase sine causa.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.8.3.pr-49.8.3.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.8.3.pr-49.8.3.1

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