Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §6.1.70.pr

Denial of Quasi-Publician Action to Wrongdoers

Passage 1141 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains the decision that not even a quasi-Publician action should be granted to a wrongdoer, in order to prevent anyone from virtually forcing the purchase of a thing at a fair price from an unwilling owner through plunder.

[POMPONIUS libro uicensimo nono ad Sabinum. ] §6.1.70.prNec quasi Publicianam quidem actionem ei dandam placuit, ne in potestate cuiusque sit per rapinam ab inuito domino rem iusto pretio comparare.
[POMPONIUS in the twenty-ninth book on Sabinus.] And it was held that not even a quasi-Publician action should be granted to him, lest it should be in anyone's power to acquire a thing at a fair price from an unwilling owner by plunder.

Notes

  1. §6.1.70.prNec quasi Publicianam quidem actionem ei dandam placuit — The phrase nec... quidem means 'not even', which, combined with the gerundive dandam and placuit ('it was decided/held'), expresses a negative obligation/propriety: 'it was held that not even... should be granted'. The pronoun ei ('to him') refers back to the wrongdoer who fraudulently ceased to possess as mentioned in the preceding section (D.6.1.69.pr).
  2. §6.1.70.prne in potestate cuiusque sit per rapinam ab inuito domino rem iusto pretio comparare — This is a construction where the infinitive comparare depends on in potestate alicuius est ('it is in someone's power'), meaning 'lest it should be in anyone's power to...'. It states the policy reason for preventing a wrongdoer from virtually forcing a purchase of the thing against the owner's will (ab inuito domino) by merely paying its fair price (iusto pretio) as damages.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §6.1.70.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:6.1.70.pr

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