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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.3.1.pr-7.3.1.4

Timing of the Vesting of Usufruct and Use

Passage 1258 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the timing of the ceding of the day (dies cedit) for a usufruct and use, establishing that it generally cedes once and for all upon acceptance of the inheritance, with details on specific cases such as non-daily enjoyment or legacies to hereditary slaves.

[ULPIANUS libro septimo decimo ad Sabinum. ] §7.3.1.prQuamquam usus fructus ex fruendo consistat, id est facto aliquo eius qui fruitur et utitur, tamen semel cedit dies: aliter atque si cui in menses uel in dies uel in annos singulos quid legetur: tunc enim per dies singulos uel menses uel annos dies legati cedit.
[ULPIANUS from the seventeenth book on Sabinus.] Although a usufruct consists in enjoying (that is, in some act of the person who enjoys and uses), nevertheless its day cedes once and for all: unlike when something is bequeathed to someone for individual months, days, or years, for in that case the day of the legacy cedes for individual days, months, or years.
unde quaeri potest, si usus fructus cui per dies singulos legetur uel in annos singulos, an semel cedat: et puto non cedere simul, sed per tempora adiecta, ut plura legata sint: et ita libro quarto digestorum Marcellus probat in eo, cui alternis diebus usus fructus legatus est.
Hence it can be asked, if a usufruct is bequeathed to someone for individual days or years, whether it cedes once and for all; and I think it does not cede all at once, but rather at each added period, as if there were multiple legacies. And Marcellus approves this in the fourth book of his Digests in the case of a person to whom a usufruct was bequeathed on alternate days.
§7.3.1.1Et ideo si is fructus legatus sit, qui cottidie percipi non potest, non erit inutile legatum, sed dies habebunt legatum, quibus frui potest.
And therefore, if a usufruct is bequeathed which cannot be gathered daily, the legacy will not be invalid, but the legacy will apply to those days on which it can be enjoyed.
§7.3.1.2Dies autem usus fructus, item usus non prius cedet quam hereditas adeatur: tunc enim constituitur usus fructus, cum quis iam frui potest.
However, the day of a usufruct, and likewise of a use, does not cede before the inheritance is accepted; for a usufruct is established only when someone is already able to enjoy it.
hac ratione et si seruo hereditario usus fructus legetur, Iulianus scribit, quamuis cetera legata hereditati adquirantur, in usu fructu tamen personam domini exspectari, qui uti et frui possit.
For this reason, Julian writes that even if a usufruct is bequeathed to a hereditary slave, although other legacies are acquired for the inheritance, in the case of a usufruct, however, the person of a master who can use and enjoy is awaited.
§7.3.1.3Item si ex die usus fructus legetur, dies eius nondum cedet, nisi cum dies uenit: posse enim usum fructum ex die legari et in diem constat.
Likewise, if a usufruct is bequeathed from a certain day, its day does not yet cede until that day arrives; for it is well established that a usufruct can be bequeathed from a certain day or until a certain day.
§7.3.1.4Non solum autem usus fructus ante aditam hereditatem dies non cedit, sed nec actio de usu fructu: idemque et si ex die fuerit legatus usus fructus: denique Scaeuola ait agentem ante diem usus fructus nihil facere, quamuis alias qui ante diem agit, male agit.
Not only does the day of a usufruct not cede before the inheritance is accepted, but neither does the action concerning the usufruct; and the same applies if the usufruct has been bequeathed from a certain day. Finally, Scaevola says that one who brings an action before the day of the usufruct accomplishes nothing, although in other cases, one who sues before the day loses his case.

Notes

  1. §7.3.1.praliter atque si — A combination of the comparative adverb `aliter` and the conjunction `atque` followed by the conditional clause `si`, meaning "otherwise than if" or "unlike when". It contrasts the once-and-for-all nature of a standard usufruct legacy with recurring periodic legacies.
  2. §7.3.1.prut plura legata sint — The conjunction `ut` followed by the subjunctive perfect `sint`. Rather than a mere purpose or physical result, it indicates a legal effect or construction: "so that they are treated as multiple legacies."
  3. §7.3.1.2in usu fructu tamen personam domini exspectari — An accusative with infinitive construction depending on the main verb `scribit`. While other legacies (`cetera legata`) are automatically acquired for the inheritance, a usufruct, due to its highly personal nature, requires waiting (`exspectari`) for the specific "person of a master" who will actually exercise it.
  4. §7.3.1.4Scaeuola ait agentem ante diem usus fructus nihil facere, quamuis alias qui ante diem agit, male agit — In indirect discourse, `agentem` (the one bringing the action) is the subject of the infinitive `nihil facere` (accomplishes nothing), which is contrasted with `male agit` (sues improperly/loses the case). While in normal obligations a premature claim (plus petitio tempore) leads to losing the right to sue again, in usufruct a premature claim is treated as a nullity ("accomplishes nothing"), allowing a proper suit once the day arrives.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.3.1.pr-7.3.1.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.3.1.pr-7.3.1.4

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