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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.4.1.pr-7.4.1.3

Loss of Usufruct by Status Change and Exceptions

Passage 1259 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian states the rule that a usufruct and its related action are extinguished by a deminution of status, while explaining exceptions for usufructs not yet established or those bequeathed for split periods.

[ULPIANUS libro septimo decimo ad Sabinum. ] §7.4.1.prNon solum usum fructum amitti capitis minutione constat, sed et actionem de usu fructu.
[ULPIANUS from the seventeenth book on Sabinus.] It is established that not only a usufruct is lost by a deminution of status, but also the action concerning the usufruct.
et parui refert, utrum iure sit constitutus usus fructus an uero tuitione praetoris: proinde traditus quoque usus fructus, item in fundo uectigali uel superficie non iure constitutus capitis minutione amittitur.
And it matters little whether the usufruct was established by civil law or indeed by the protection of the praetor: hence, a usufruct that has also been delivered, and likewise one not established by civil law on vectigal land or on a building, is lost by a deminution of status.
§7.4.1.1Sed ita demum amittitur capitis deminutione usus fructus, si iam constitutus est: ceterum si ante aditam hereditatem aut ante diem cedentem quis capite minutus est, constat non amitti.
But a usufruct is lost by a deminution of status only if it has already been established: otherwise, if anyone suffers a deminution of status before the inheritance is accepted or before the day of vesting, it is established that it is not lost.
§7.4.1.2Si tibi fundus ex die legatus est et usum fructum mihi rogatus es restituere, uidendum erit, si capite minutus fuero intra diem legato tuo insertum, ne forte saluus sit mihi usus fructus, quasi ante diem cedentem capitis minutio interueniat: quod benigne dici poterit.
If a tract of land has been bequeathed to you from a certain day, and you have been requested to restore the usufruct to me, we must see whether, if I suffer a deminution of status within the period inserted in your legacy, the usufruct remains secure to me, as if the deminution of status occurred before the day of vesting: which can be said by way of a favorable construction.
§7.4.1.3Usque adeo autem capitis minutio eum demum usum fructum peremit, qui iam constitutus est, ut si in singulos annos uel menses uel dies legatus sit, is demum amittitur, qui iam processit et si forte in annos singulos legatus est, illius dumtaxat anni usus fructus amittetur et si in menses, eius mensis, si in dies, eius diei.
Furthermore, a deminution of status extinguishes only that usufruct which has already been established to such an extent, that if it is bequeathed for individual years, months, or days, only that one is lost which has already accrued; and if, for instance, it is bequeathed for individual years, only the usufruct of that particular year will be lost; and if for months, of that month; if for days, of that day.

Notes

  1. §7.4.1.prtuitione praetoris — Refers to a de facto usufruct maintained and protected by the praetor's authority, in contrast to one established formally by the civil law (iure).
  2. §7.4.1.2rogatus es — A formulaic expression for a fideicommissum (trust-bequest), indicating that the legatee (tibi) has been requested by the testator to restore or transfer (restituere) the usufruct to a third party (mihi).
  3. §7.4.1.2ne forte — Following the verb of consideration (uidendum erit), it introduces a clause expressing a positive doubt or possibility ('whether perhaps...'). Here, it conveys a nuance of hoping for a favorable outcome where the usufruct remains secure (saluus sit) despite the change of status.
  4. §7.4.1.3qui iam processit — The verb procedere here refers to a period that has 'commenced' or 'already run/accrued.' It denotes those portions of the usufruct, split into periodic terms, whose effect has already begun to run.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.4.1.pr-7.4.1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.4.1.pr-7.4.1.3

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