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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.1.62.pr-7.1.62.1

Rights to Game and Returning Animals in Enclosures

Passage 1233 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage defines the ownership of game caught by hunting on the estate and proposes a practical solution for enclosed wild beasts, stating that the same number of beasts of each species as present at the start should be returned when the usufruct ends, avoiding difficulties of individual identification.

[TRYPHONINUS libro septimo disputationum. ] §7.1.62.prUsufructuarium uenari in saltibus uel montibus possessionis probe dicitur: nec aprum aut ceruum quem ceperit proprium domini capit, sed aut fructus iure aut gentium suos facit.
[TRYPHONINUS in the seventh book of Disputations.] It is rightly said that a usufructuary may hunt in the pastures or mountains of the estate; and any wild boar or stag that he catches, he does not capture as the property of the owner, but makes his own either by the right of usufruct or by the law of nations.
§7.1.62.1Si uiuariis inclusae ferae in ea possessione custodiebantur, quando usus fructus coepit, num exercere eas fructuarius possit, occidere non possit? alias si quas initio incluserit operis suis uel post sibimet ipsae inciderint delapsaeue fuerint, hae fructuarii iuris sint? commodissime tamen, ne per singula animalia facultatis fructuarii propter discretionem difficilem ius incertum sit, sufficit eundem numerum per singula quoque genera ferarum finito usu fructu domino proprietatis adsignare, qui fuit coepti usus fructus tempore.
If wild beasts enclosed in preserves were kept on that estate when the usufruct began, is it the case that the usufructuary can use them but cannot kill them? On the other hand, if he enclosed any at the beginning by his own efforts, or if they afterwards fell in or slipped in of their own accord, would these belong to the right of the usufructuary? However, most conveniently, lest the right concerning the usufructuary's resources should be uncertain in respect of individual animals because of the difficulty of distinguishing them, it is sufficient, when the usufruct is ended, to hand over to the owner of the property the same number for each individual class of wild beasts as existed at the time the usufruct began.

Notes

  1. 7.1.62.prnec aprum aut ceruum quem ceperit proprium domini capit, sed aut fructus iure aut gentium suos facit — proprium domini (as the property of the owner) functions as an object complement to capit. suos is the object complement in the double accusative construction with facit (makes them his own). In fructus iure aut gentium, the ablative iure is understood to be supplied with the genitive gentium.
  2. 7.1.62.1num exercere eas fructuarius possit, occidere non possit? — num is an interrogative particle that often expects a negative answer or introduces a legal doubt or deliberation. Here it presents a question regarding the limits of the usufructuary's power over enclosed animals (whether they can use them but not kill them).
  3. 7.1.62.1ne per singula animalia facultatis fructuarii propter discretionem difficilem ius incertum sit — facultas here refers to 'resources' or 'available property.' Thus, facultatis fructuarii (of the usufructuary's resources) functions as a genitive of reference modifying ius (the right concerning the usufructuary's resources). This purpose clause explains the necessity of preventing legal uncertainty due to the difficulty of identifying individual animals.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.1.62.pr-7.1.62.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.1.62.pr-7.1.62.1

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