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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.5.pr

Capacity to Contract: The Insane and Wards

Passage 9065 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In contracting business, the legal position of the insane differs from that of those who can speak but do not fully understand; an insane person cannot contract at all, while a ward can act with the authority of a tutor.

[PAULUS libro secundo ad Sabinum. ] §50.17.5.prIn negotiis contrahendis alia causa habita est furiosorum, alia eorum qui fari possunt, quamuis actum rei non intellegerent: nam furiosus nullum negotium contrahere potest, pupillus omnia tutore auctore agere potest.
[PAULUS, in his second book on Sabinus.] In contracting business, one condition has been held to apply to the insane, and another to those who are able to speak, even though they may not understand what is being done: for an insane person can contract no business, whereas a ward can do all things with the authority of his tutor.

Notes

  1. 50.17.5.pralia causa habita est — The passive perfect of the verb habere (to hold, regard). The noun causa means 'condition, legal standing, or situation' and governs the genitives furiosorum and eorum, forming a contrastive structure meaning 'one condition has been held for..., another for...'.
  2. 50.17.5.prquamuis actum rei non intellegerent — A concessive clause introduced by the conjunction quamuis (although, even though) with the imperfect subjunctive intellegerent. The subject refers back to the antecedent eorum (those who can speak, specifically younger wards who do not fully grasp the legal meaning of their transactions).
  3. 50.17.5.prtutore auctore — An ablative absolute consisting of two nouns, tutor (guardian) and auctor (authorizer, one who grants authority), without a participle. It means 'with the tutor acting as authorizer' or 'under the authority of the tutor'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.5.pr

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