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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.9.5.pr

Prohibition of Rescinding Decrees Without Just Cause

Passage 8772 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage records the divine Hadrian's rescript to the Nicomedians, stating that a decree once passed by the order of decurions should not be rescinded except for a just cause, namely, for the public utility.

[CALLISTRATUS libro secundo de cognitionibus. ] §50.9.5.prQuod semel ordo decreuit, non oportere id rescindi diuus Hadrianus Nicomedensibus rescripsit nisi ex causa: id est si ad publicam utilitatem respiciat rescissio prioris decreti.
[CALLISTRATUS in the second book on Extraordinary Investigations.] The divine Hadrian wrote back to the Nicomedians that what the order has once decreed ought not to be rescinded, except for a cause: that is, if the rescission of the prior decree has regard to the public utility.

Notes

  1. §50.9.5.prQuod semel ordo decreuit, non oportere id rescindi — The antecedent of the relative clause `Quod ... decreuit` is `id`, and the phrase `id rescindi` (that it be rescinded) functions as the subject (accusative with infinitive) of the impersonal verb `oportere`. This entire structure depends on `rescripsit` as the indirect discourse showing the content of the rescript.
  2. §50.9.5.prex causa — Here, `causa` does not mean a mere reason, but a legally recognized "just cause." The immediately following sentence (`id est...`) explains its concrete substance as the consideration of "public utility."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.9.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.9.5.pr

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