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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.10.5.pr-50.10.5.1

Interest on Public Legacies and Public Land Control

Passage 8778 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section outlines the rescript of the deified Pius regarding default interest on legacies for erecting statues, depending on the presence of a deadline, and describes the governor's duties to reclaim or lease public lands and buildings occupied by private individuals.

[ULPIANUS libro singulari de officio curatoris rei publicae. ] §50.10.5.prSi legatum uel fideicommissum fuerit ad opus relictum, usurae quae et quando incipiant deberi, rescripto diui Pii ita continetur. 'Si quidem dies non sit ab his, qui statuas uel imagines ponendas legauerunt, praefinitus, a praeside prouinciae tempus statuendum est: et nisi posuerint heredes, usuras leuiores intra sex menses, si minus, semisses usuras rei publicae pendant.
[ULPIANUS in the single book on the Office of the Curator of the Public Estate.] If a legacy or a fideicommissum has been left for a public work, what interest begins to be owed and when, is contained in a rescript of the deified Pius as follows: "If indeed no deadline has been pre-determined by those who bequeathed that statues or images should be erected, a period of time must be established by the governor of the province; and if the heirs do not erect them, they shall pay to the municipality lighter interest within six months, but if not, they shall pay interest at the rate of six percent.
si uero dies datus est, pecuniam deponant intra diem, si aut non inuenire se statuas dixerint aut loco controuersiam fecerint: semisses protinus pendant'. §50.10.5.1Fines publicos a priuatis detineri non oportet.
If, however, a deadline has been given, they must deposit the money within that deadline. If they either say they cannot find the statues or make a dispute over the location, they must pay interest at the rate of six percent immediately." Public boundaries ought not to be detained by private individuals.
curabit igitur praeses prouinciae, si qui publici sunt, a priuatis separare et publicos potius reditus augere: si qua loca publica uel aedificia in usus priuatorum inuenerit, aestimare, utrumne uindicanda in publicum sint an uectigal eis satius sit imponi, et id, quod utilius rei publicae intellexerit, sequi.
Therefore, the governor of the province shall take care to separate any that are public from private individuals, and rather to increase the public revenues; and if he finds any public places or buildings in the use of private individuals, to estimate whether they ought to be reclaimed for the public use or whether it is preferable to impose a ground-rent on them, and to follow that which he understands to be more advantageous for the municipality.

Notes

  1. §50.10.5.prsemisses usuras — "semisses usuras" refers to interest at the rate of six percent per annum (0.5% per month). It derives from half ("semis") of the "centesimae usurae" (1% per month, or 12% per annum), which was the standard maximum interest rate in Roman law.
  2. §50.10.5.prsi minus — Meaning "if not" (i.e., if they have not erected the statues within six months). It acts as a negation of the preceding condition "within six months" ("intra sex menses"), leading to the imposition of the higher rate of "semisses usuras" (six percent) if this period is exceeded.
  3. §50.10.5.1curabit — The main verb "curabit" (will take care to) governs all four subsequent infinitives: "separare", "augere", and, after the colon, "aestimare" and "sequi", thereby coordinating the series of the governor's duties.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.10.5.pr-50.10.5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.10.5.pr-50.10.5.1

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