Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §8.2.9.pr

Immunity for Obstructing Light by Building Higher Without Servitude

Passage 1377 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that no legal action can be brought against a person who darkens a neighbor's building by building higher, provided that he does not owe any servitude of light to that neighboring building.

[ULPIANUS libro quinquagensimo tertio ad edictum. ] §8.2.9.prCum eo, qui tollendo obscurat uicini aedes, quibus non seruiat, nulla competit actio.
[ULPIANUS in the fifty-third book on the edict.] No action lies against one who, by building higher, obstructs the light of a neighbor's house to which he does not owe a servitude.

Notes

  1. §8.2.9.prtollendo — Ablative of the gerund of `tollere` (to raise, lift up), expressing means ("by building higher"). In Roman property law, it specifically refers to raising the height of a building (*altius tollere*).
  2. §8.2.9.prquibus non seruiat — The antecedent is `aedes` (feminine plural), making the relative pronoun `quibus` a dative plural. Since the verb `seruire` (to owe a servitude, to be subject to an easement) governs the dative, the clause means "to which [neighboring buildings] he [or his property] does not owe a servitude." The subjunctive `seruiat` expresses a characteristic or conditional limitation.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §8.2.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:8.2.9.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.