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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.19.pr-50.17.19.1

Duty to Know Contracting Parties and the Plea of Fraud

Passage 9079 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage states that the principle requiring one to know the condition of their contracting party does not apply to an heir who does not act voluntarily, and that the plea of fraud does not harm those whose position is consistent with the testator's will.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo quarto ad Sabinum. ] §50.17.19.prQui cum alio contrahit, uel est uel debet esse non ignarus condicionis eius: heredi autem hoc imputari non potest, cum non sponte cum legatariis contrahit. §50.17.19.1Non solet exceptio doli nocere his, quibus uoluntas testatoris non refragatur.
[ULPIAN, in his twenty-fourth book on Sabinus.]\n\nHe who contracts with another either is or ought to be not ignorant of his condition; but this cannot be imputed to the heir, since he does not contract with the legatees of his own free will.\n\nThe plea of fraud is not customary to harm those whom the will of the testator does not oppose.

Notes

  1. §50.17.19.prcondicionis — A genitive governed by the adjective ignarus (ignorant). Here, condicio refers not to a mere contractual term, but to the legal status, capacity, or financial standing of the contracting party.
  2. §50.17.19.prcontrahit — Although contrahere primarily means to conclude a contract based on mutual agreement, it is used here in a broader sense to describe entering into a compulsory legal relationship (quasi-contractual) imposed by a will between the heir and the legatees.
  3. §50.17.19.1quibus — The relative pronoun quibus is in the dative because it is governed by the verb refragari (to oppose, resist). The double negation (non refragatur) signifies that the testator's will supports them (is not inconsistent with their claim).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.19.pr-50.17.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.19.pr-50.17.19.1

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