Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §6.2.1.pr-6.2.1.2

Conditions for the Publician Action and Pending Usucapion

Passage 1152 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The praetor presents the conditions for granting the Publician action, and Ulpian explains why the requirement "not yet acquired by usucapion" is necessary, while questioning why the praetor mentioned only delivery and usucapion among various means of acquiring ownership.

[ULPIANUS libro sexto decimo ad edictum. ] §6.2.1.prAit praetor: 'Si quis id quod traditur ex iusta causa non a domino et nondum usucaptum petet, iudicium dabo. ' §6.2.1.1Merito praetor ait 'nondum usucaptum': nam si usucaptum est, habet ciuilem actionem nec desiderat honorariam.

[ULPIANUS libro sexto decimo ad edictum.] The praetor says: 'If anyone sues for that which has been delivered on a lawful ground, but not by the owner, and has not yet been acquired by usucapion, I will grant an action.' With good reason the praetor says 'not yet acquired by usucapion': for if it has been acquired by usucapion, he has a civil action and does not need an honorary one.

§6.2.1.2Sed cur traditionis dumtaxat et usucapionis fecit mentionem, cum satis multae sunt iuris partes, quibus dominium quis nancisceretur? ut puta legatum

But why did he make mention only of delivery and usucapion, when there are quite many areas of law by which one might acquire ownership? For instance, a legacy.

Notes

6.2.1.prid quod traditur ex iusta causa non a domino — Both the ablative phrase ex iusta causa ('on a lawful ground') and non a domino ('not by the owner') modify the verb traditur within the relative clause. The entire relative clause id quod... functions as the modifier of id, which is the object of petet (future indicative, acting as the protasis of the conditional sentence).
6.2.1.2cum satis multae sunt iuris partes, quibus dominium quis nancisceretur — cum is a concessive conjunction ('although', 'when on the contrary'). The relative pronoun quibus is an ablative of means referring back to iuris partes, and the subjunctive imperfect nancisceretur expresses potentiality or characterizes the clauses.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §6.2.1.pr-6.2.1.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:6.2.1.pr-6.2.1.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.