Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.131.pr

Fraudulent Cessation of Possession and Liability

Passage 9191 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that one who fraudulently ceases to possess is condemned as if they were still the possessor, establishing the legal maxim that malice stands in place of possession.

[PAULUS libro uicesimo secundo ad edictum. ] §50.17.131.prQui dolo desierit possidere, pro possidente damnatur, quia pro possessione dolus est.
[PAULUS, in the twenty-second book on the edict.] He who has ceased to possess through malice is condemned as a possessor, because malice stands in place of possession.

Notes

  1. §50.17.131.prdolo — The ablative singular of the noun dolus (malice, fraud, or intent), functioning as an ablative of cause or means.
  2. §50.17.131.prdesierit — The third-person singular future perfect indicative (or perfect subjunctive) of desino (to cease, lose), used in the relative clause introduced by Qui to express an action prior to (or hypothetical to) the main verb damnatur.
  3. §50.17.131.prpro possidente — The preposition pro governs the ablative, meaning 'in place of' or 'as'. possidente is the ablative singular of the present participle possidens (from possideo, to possess).
  4. §50.17.131.prpro possessione dolus est — A famous Roman law maxim: 'malice stands in place of possession' (dolus pro possessione est). Here too, pro means 'in place of' or 'equivalent to'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.131.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.131.pr

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