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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.34.pr

Contract Interpretation: Agreement, Custom, and Minimum Liability

Passage 9094 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian asserts that in contract interpretation, one must first follow the parties' agreement, and secondly the local custom, but if neither is clear, the liability must be reduced to the minimum.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragensimo quinto ad Sabinum. ] §50.17.34.prSemper in stipulationibus et in ceteris contractibus id sequimur, quod actum est: aut, si non pareat quid actum est, erit consequens, ut id sequamur, quod in regione in qua actum est frequentatur.
[ULPIANUS, in his forty-fifth book on Sabinus.] Always in stipulations and in other contracts we follow that which was agreed upon: or, if it is not clear what was agreed upon, the consequence will be that we follow that which is customary in the region in which the transaction took place.
quid ergo, si neque regionis mos appareat, quia uarius fuit? ad id, quod minimum est, redigenda summa est.
What then, if even the custom of the region is not apparent because it was varied? The sum must be reduced to that which is the minimum.

Notes

  1. 50.17.34.prsi non pareat quid actum est — The verb `pareat` (present subjunctive of `parere`) means "to be clear or apparent" (equivalent to `apparere`). The subjunctive is used in the conditional `si` clause. The subject of `pareat` is the indirect question clause `quid actum est` ("what was agreed/done").
  2. 50.17.34.prerit consequens, ut id sequamur — The phrase `consequens erit` ("it will be a consequence") introduces a noun clause with `ut` and the present subjunctive (`sequamur`), functioning as the logical subject or complement.
  3. 50.17.34.prredigenda summa est — The feminine singular gerundive `redigenda` (from the transitive verb `redigere`, "to reduce or bring back") combined with the copula `est` forms the passive periphrastic conjugation, expressing obligation or necessity ("must be reduced"). It agrees in gender and number with the subject `summa` ("sum").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.34.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.34.pr

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