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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.1.26.pr-50.1.26.1

Limits on Municipal Magistrates Exercising Imperium

Passage 8669 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states the rule that municipal magistrates cannot exercise powers belonging to command (imperium) rather than jurisdiction, such as granting restitution to the original state or ordering possession of property for the preservation of assets, dowries, or legacies.

[PAULUS libro primo ad edictum. ] §50.1.26.prEa, quae magis imperii sunt quam iurisdictionis, magistratus municipalis facere non potest.
[PAULUS, On the Edict of the Praetor, Book I] Municipal magistrates cannot perform those acts which belong to command rather than jurisdiction.
§50.1.26.1Magistratibus municipalibus non permittitur in integrum restituere aut bona rei seruandae causa iubere possideri aut dotis seruandae causa uel legatorum seruandorum causa.
Municipal magistrates are not permitted to grant restitution to the original state, or to order possession of property for the sake of preserving the property, or for the sake of preserving a dowry or preserving legacies.

Notes

  1. §50.1.26.prmagis imperii sunt quam iurisdictionis — Genitives of characteristic/possession used with 'sunt' ('belong to' or 'are characteristic of'). In Roman law, the power of command (imperium), which involved coercive authority, was strictly distinguished from jurisdiction (iurisdictio), the power to administer ordinary civil proceedings; this indicates that municipal magistrates generally lacked the former.
  2. §50.1.26.1in integrum restituere — An active infinitive meaning 'to restore to the original state'. In procedural law, it refers to the magistrate's extraordinary power to annul a transaction or legal change and restore the parties to their prior position, which is an exercise of imperium and thus denied to municipal magistrates.
  3. §50.1.26.1iubere possideri — A construction where the active verb 'iubere' governs the passive infinitive 'possideri'. The semantic subject 'bona' (property) is understood from the preceding 'bona...'. This refers to the authorization of possession of property (missio in possessionem), an extraordinary remedy originating from imperium, and is therefore outside the competence of municipal magistrates.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.1.26.pr-50.1.26.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.1.26.pr-50.1.26.1

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