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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.177.pr-50.17.177.1

Reliance on Predecessor's Right and Lack of Malice in Ignorance

Passage 9237 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Presents the principle that a successor to another's right or ownership must rely on that person's right, and the rule that one who is ignorant of the reason why they should not claim is not deemed to act with malice.

[IDEM libro quarto decimo ad Plautium. ] §50.17.177.prQui in ius dominiumue alterius succedit, iure eius uti debet.
[THE SAME, in the fourteenth book on Plautius.] He who succeeds to the right or ownership of another ought to use his right.
§50.17.177.1Nemo uidetur dolo exsequi, qui ignorat causam, cur non debeat petere.
No one is deemed to act with malice who is ignorant of the reason why he ought not to make a claim.

Notes

  1. §50.17.177.preius — Genitive of the demonstrative pronoun. Contextually, it refers to the preceding alterius (the other person, i.e., the predecessor). This reflects the principle of succession that a successor can only exercise the right within the limits and scope of the predecessor's right.
  2. §50.17.177.1Nemo uidetur ... qui ignorat — A hyperbaton where the negative subject of the main clause Nemo is separated from its modifying relative clause qui ignorat. It is interpreted as 'No one who is ignorant of... is deemed to...'.
  3. §50.17.177.1cur non debeat petere — An indirect question clause introduced by cur (why), which requires the subjunctive verb debeat (present subjunctive). It denotes action simultaneous with the present tense of the main clause (uidetur, ignorat).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.177.pr-50.17.177.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.177.pr-50.17.177.1

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