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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.27.pr

Inability of Private Pacts to Alter Solemn Law and Exceptions

Passage 9087 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius explains that private agreements cannot alter rules of praetorian or solemn law, although obligations can be altered by pacts, and the form of actions cannot be invalidated by private agreements unless agreed upon at the time the action begins.

[POMPONIUS libro sexto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §50.17.27.prNec ex praetorio nec ex sollemni iure priuatorum conuentione quicquam immutandum est, quamuis obligationum causae pactione possint immutari et ipso iure et per pacti conuenti exceptionem: quia actionum modus uel lege uel per praetorem introductus priuatorum pactionibus non infirmatur, nisi tunc, cum inchoatur actio, inter eos conuenit.
[POMPONIUS, in his sixteenth book on Sabinus.] Nothing should be altered by the agreement of private individuals, whether it derives from praetorian law or from solemn law, although the causes of obligations can be altered by agreement, both by operation of law and by the plea of an agreed pact; for the form of actions, whether introduced by law or by the praetor, is not invalidated by the agreements of private individuals, except when an agreement is made between them at the time the action is commenced.

Notes

  1. §50.17.27.prpriuatorum conuentione — Ablative of means. It expresses the instrument or cause of the action implied by the gerundive `immutandum est`. Similarly, `priuatorum pactionibus` later in the sentence is an ablative of means in the plural.
  2. §50.17.27.prex praetorio nec ex sollemni iure — The preposition `ex` governs both `praetorio [iure]` and `sollemni iure`. It contrasts `praetorianum ius` (praetorian law) with `sollemne ius` (solemn or formal civil law).
  3. §50.17.27.prnisi tunc, cum inchoatur actio, inter eos conuenit — A conditional clause with the impersonal verb `conuenit` (an agreement is reached). `tunc, cum` emphasizes the precise timing ('at the very moment when'), indicating that only agreements made at the specific stage of commencing the action (`inchoatur actio`) constitute an exception.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.27.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.27.pr

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