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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §8.2.41.pr-8.2.41.1

Right of Access Through Bequeathed Property and Opening a Gate

Passage 1409 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Scaevola responds to inquiries regarding whether an heir may pass through a bequeathed residence to reach unbequeathed property, and whether a neighbor can bring an action to block the opening of a gate onto a public space if it causes no harm.

[SCAEUOLA libro primo responsorum. ] §8.2.41.prOlympico habitationem et horreum, quod in ea domo erat, quoad uiueret, legauit: iuxta eandem domum hortus et cenaculum, quod Olympico legatum non est, fuerunt: ad hortum autem et cenaculum semper per domum, cuius habitatio relicta erat, aditus fuit: quaesitum est, an Olympicus aditum praestare deberet.
[SCAEVOLA, in the first book of Responses.] He bequeathed to Olympicus, for as long as he lived, a habitation and a warehouse which was in that house; adjacent to the same house were a garden and a dining-room, which were not bequeathed to Olympicus; but access to the garden and dining-room had always been through the house, the habitation of which had been left. It was asked whether Olympicus was obliged to provide access.
respondi seruitutem quidem non esse, sed heredem transire per domum ad ea quae commemorata sunt posse, dum non noceat legatario.
I replied that indeed there was no servitude, but that the heir could pass through the house to the things mentioned, provided that he did not cause harm to the legatee.
§8.2.41.1Lucius Titius aperto pariete domus suae, quatenus stillicidii rigor et tignorum protectus competebat, ianuam in publico aperuit: quaero, cum neque luminibus Publii Maeuii uicini neque itineri uicini officeret neque stillicidium uicini domo cadat, an aliquam actionem Publius Maeuius uicinus ad prohibendum haberet.
Lucius Titius, having opened the wall of his house as far as the line of the drip of rainwater and the projection of the beams extended, opened a gate onto the public street. I ask: since this does not interfere with either the light of his neighbor Publius Maevius or his neighbor's passage, nor does the rainwater fall upon his neighbor's house, does his neighbor Publius Maevius have any action to prevent this?
respondi secundum ea quae proponerentur nullam habere.
I replied that, according to the facts proposed, he has none.

Notes

  1. §8.2.41.prdum non noceat — The conjunction dum with the subjunctive (present, third-person singular) introduces a restrictive proviso, meaning "provided that... not" or "so long as... not." It limits the heir's right of passage so that it must not cause harm to the legatee.
  2. §8.2.41.1aperto pariete — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun paries (wall, ablative singular pariete) and the perfect passive participle of aperire (to open, ablative singular aperto). It expresses the means or preceding condition of Titius's action ("having opened the wall" or "by opening the wall").
  3. §8.2.41.1nullam habere — In the accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on respondi, both the subject accusative (representing the neighbor Maevius, i.e., eum) and the noun actionem as the object of the infinitive habere are omitted. From the context, it is understood as "(that the neighbor Maevius) has no (action)."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §8.2.41.pr-8.2.41.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:8.2.41.pr-8.2.41.1

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