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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §6.1.57.pr

Protection of Possessor Facing Two Claimants and Security for Eviction

Passage 1128 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Alfenus responds to a query regarding a defendant sued by two different claimants for the same land, advising that the judge who decides first should order restoration only on the condition that the claimant provides security to indemnify the possessor in the event of eviction by the other.

[ALFENUS libro sexto digestorum. ] §6.1.57.prIs a quo fundus petitus erat ab alio eiusdem fundi nomine conuentus est: quaerebatur, si alterutri eorum iussu iudicis fundum restituisset et postea secundum alterum petitorem res iudicaretur, quemadmodum non duplex damnum traheret.
[ALFENUS in the sixth book of the Digests.] A person from whom a tract of land was claimed was sued by another person under the name of the same land; it was asked how he might avoid suffering double loss, if by order of the judge he should restore the land to one of them, and afterwards judgment should be given in favor of the other claimant.
respondi, uter prior iudex iudicaret, eum oportere ita fundum petitori restitui iubere, ut possessori caueret uel satisdaret, si alter fundum euicisset, eum praestare.
I replied that whichever judge should decide first, he ought to order the land to be restored to the claimant in such a way that the claimant should give security or guarantee to the possessor that, if the other should evict the land, he would make it good.

Notes

  1. §6.1.57.prIs a quo fundus petitus erat ab alio eiusdem fundi nomine conuentus est — The subject of the main clause is 'Is' (modified by the relative clause 'a quo fundus petitus erat'), and the verb is 'conuentus est'. The phrase 'eiusdem fundi nomine' is an ablative of cause or ground, meaning 'on account of the same land' or 'under the name of the same land'.
  2. §6.1.57.pruter prior iudex iudicaret, eum oportere — The clause 'uter prior iudex iudicaret' forms an indirect question, anticipating and defining the subject pronoun 'eum' (referring to that judge) in the accusative-and-infinitive construction dependent on 'respondi'. It translates as 'whichever of the two judges should decide first, he ought...'.
  3. §6.1.57.prut possessori caueret uel satisdaret — In the correlative 'ita... ut...' construction, the implied subject of 'caueret' and 'satisdaret' in the ut-clause is the claimant ('petitori'). It denotes the condition under which the land is to be restored: 'that the claimant should give security or guarantee to the possessor'.
  4. §6.1.57.prsi alter fundum euicisset, eum praestare — An infinitive clause (accusative with infinitive) explaining the content of the security ('caueret uel satisdaret'). The subject of 'euicisset' (evicted, recovered by law) is the other claimant ('alter'), while the subject 'eum' of 'praestare' (to make good, indemnify) refers to the first claimant who received the land.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §6.1.57.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:6.1.57.pr

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