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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.2.9.pr

Division of Usufruct Between Groups of Different Sizes

Passage 1254 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage explains the division of a usufruct when the ownership and the usufruct are bequeathed to different numbers of people, stating that the division is made by halves between the two groups rather than by equal thirds per capita.

[AFRICANUS libro quinto quaestionum. ] §7.2.9.prSi proprietas fundi duobus, usus fructus uni legatus sit, non trientes in usu fructu habent, sed semissem duo, semissem fructuarius: item contra, si duo fructuarii et unus fundi legatarius sit.
[AFRICANUS from the fifth book of Questions.] If the ownership of a tract of land is bequeathed to two persons, and the usufruct to one, they do not have thirds in the usufruct, but the two have a half, and the usufructuary has a half; likewise conversely, if there are two usufructuaries and one legatee of the land.

Notes

  1. §7.2.9.prnon trientes in usu fructu habent — The subject of the verb habent (third-person plural) is the three persons mentioned in the preceding clause: the two legatees of the ownership (duobus) and the one legatee of the usufruct (uni). trientes is the accusative plural of triens (a third, literally four-twelfths in the Roman fractional system), serving as the direct object of habent to mean "one-third shares each." It denies a head-count division (one-third each) in favor of a division based on the nature of the rights (half each).
  2. §7.2.9.pritem contra — Meaning "likewise conversely," referring to the symmetrical situation in the following clause: si duo fructuarii et unus fundi legatarius sit (if there are two usufructuaries and one legatee of the land). In this case as well, the two usufructuaries together have a half (semissem), and the single owner has a half. A verb like evenit is understood to be omitted.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.2.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.2.9.pr

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