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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.8.12.pr-50.8.12.6

Imperial Rescripts on Administrators' Duties and Liabilities

Passage 8766 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A series of imperial rescripts compilation by Papirius Justus regarding various duties and liabilities of city administrators, including security requirements, property sales, grain buyers, and debt management.

[IDEM eodem libro. ] §50.8.12.prImperatores Antoninus et Uerus rescripserunt operum exactionem sine cautione non oportere committi.
[The same, in the same book.] The Emperors Antoninus and Verus replied in a rescript that the enforcement of works ought not to be entrusted without security.
§50.8.12.1Item rescripserunt curatores, si neglegenter in distrahendis bonis se gesserint, in simplum teneri, si per fraudem, in duplum: nec ad heredes eorum poenam descendere.
They also replied that administrators, if they have acted negligently in selling goods, are liable for the simple value, and if through fraud, for double; and that the penalty does not descend to their heirs.
§50.8.12.2Item rescripserunt pecuniam ad annonam destinatam distractis rebus curatorem exigere debere.
They also replied that the administrator ought to exact the money destined for the grain supply, after the property has been sold.
§50.8.12.3Item rescripserunt sitonas indemnes esse oportere, qui non segniter officio suo functi sunt, secundum litteras Hadriani.
They also replied that, according to the letter of Hadrian, the grain buyers who have not performed their duty sluggishly ought to be kept harmless.
§50.8.12.4Item rescripserunt a curatore kalendarii cautionem exigi non debere, cum a praeside ex inquisitione eligatur.
They also replied that security ought not to be exacted from the administrator of the debt ledger, since he is selected by the governor after an inquiry.
§50.8.12.5Item rescripserunt curatorem etiam nomine collegae teneri, si interuenire et prohibere eum potuit.
They also replied that an administrator is liable also in the name of his colleague, if he was able to intervene and prevent him.
§50.8.12.6Item rescripserunt nominum, quae deteriora facta sunt tempore curatoris, periculum ad ipsum pertinere: quia uero antequam curator fieret, idonea non erant, aequum uideri periculum ad eum non pertinere.
They also replied that the risk of the debts which became worse during the term of the administrator pertains to him; but because they were not solvent before he became administrator, it seems equitable that the risk does not pertain to him.

Notes

  1. 50.8.12.properum exactionem — operum is an objective genitive. exactio means "exaction, enforcement, or collection" (of taxes, works, or contractual duties). Here, it refers to the enforcement of the performance of public works or the collection of relevant funds.
  2. 50.8.12.1in distrahendis bonis — The preposition in combined with the ablative of the gerundive construction (distrahendis bonis), meaning "in the course of selling/disposing of property."
  3. 50.8.12.3sitonas — Accusative plural of sitona (a first-declension masculine noun), a Latinized borrowing from the Greek σιτώνης (grain buyer). It refers to officials responsible for purchasing grain for the city's food supply.
  4. 50.8.12.4kalendarii — Genitive of kalendarium, which originally referred to a monthly interest/debt ledger (named after kalendae, the first of the month when interest was settled). Here, curatorem kalendarii refers to the administrator in charge of the debt ledger representing municipal loans.
  5. 50.8.12.6nominum — Genitive plural of nomen (literally "name"). In Roman legal terminology, it refers to "debts" or "claims" (named after the debtor's entry). This is supported by the subsequent clause where they are described as idonea non erant ("were not solvent/adequate").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.8.12.pr-50.8.12.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.8.12.pr-50.8.12.6

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