Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.13.6.pr

Quasi-Delictual Liability of a Judge for Misconduct

Passage 8803 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that when a judge makes a litigation their own through negligence or other fault, although not liable under a contract or a strict delict, they are held liable under a quasi-delict via an action on the case, facing a penalty determined by the discretion of the subsequent judge.

[GAIUS libro tertio rerum cottidianarum siue aureorum. ] §50.13.6.prSi iudex litem suam fecerit, non proprie ex maleficio obligatus uidetur: sed quia neque ex contractu obligatus est et utique peccasse aliquid intellegitur, licet per inprudentiam, ideo uidetur quasi ex maleficio teneri in factum actione, et in quantum de ea re aequum religioni iudicantis uisum fuerit, poenam sustinebit.
[GAIUS, in the third book of Everyday Matters or Golden Words.] If a judge makes the litigation his own, he is not considered to be obligated strictly from a delict; but because he is neither obligated from a contract and is at any rate understood to have committed some fault, even if through imprudence, he is therefore considered to be liable as if from a delict by an action on the case, and he shall bear the penalty to the extent that it seems equitable to the conscience of the one judging the matter.

Notes

  1. §50.13.6.prlitem suam fecerit — To make the litigation one's own is a legal term referring to a judge becoming liable as if they were a party to the lawsuit, due to an erroneous judgment or negligence that causes damage to a litigant.
  2. §50.13.6.prquasi ex maleficio — This expression underlies the category of quasi-delict, where liability is incurred as if from a delict because of a fault, despite not arising from a contract or a delict in the strict sense.
  3. §50.13.6.prreligioni iudicantis — iudicantis is the genitive of the present participle, referring to the one who judges the original judge's liability. religioni is in the dative, meaning the conscience, sense of duty, or scruples of this judging person, serving as the subject to whose judgment the matter must seem equitable.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.13.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.13.6.pr

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