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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §8.3.23.pr-8.3.23.3

Road Width and Servitudes Upon Confiscation or Division

Passage 1432 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the width requirements of a road, the possibility of establishing a servitude of navigation, the survival of servitudes upon land confiscation, and the transferability and adjustment of servitudes when land is divided.

[PAULUS libro quinto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §8.3.23.prUia constitui uel latior octo pedibus uel angustior potest, ut tamen eam latitudinem habeat, qua uehiculum ire potest: alioquin iter erit, non uia.
[PAULUS, On Sabinus, Book 15] A road can be established either wider or narrower than eight feet, provided, however, that it has such a width as allows a vehicle to pass; otherwise, it will be a footpath/bridle path, not a road.
§8.3.23.1Si lacus perpetuus in fundo tuo est, nauigandi quoque seruitus, ut perueniatur ad fundum uicinum, imponi potest.
If there is a permanent lake on your land, a servitude of navigation may also be imposed, so that the neighboring land may be reached.
§8.3.23.2Si fundus seruiens uel is cui seruitus debetur publicaretur, utroque casu durant seruitutes, quia cum sua condicione quisque fundus publicaretur.
If either the serving land or the one to which the servitude is owed is confiscated by the state, in both cases the servitudes continue to exist, because each land is confiscated with its own condition.
§8.3.23.3Quaecumque seruitus fundo debetur, omnibus eius partibus debetur: et ideo quamuis particulatim uenierit, omnes partes seruitus sequitur et ita, ut singuli recte agant ius sibi esse eundi.
Whatever servitude is owed to a land is owed to all its parts; and therefore, even if it is sold in pieces, the servitude follows all the parts, and this in such a way that individual owners can rightfully bring an action claiming that they have the right of passage.
si tamen fundus, cui seruitus debetur, certis regionibus inter plures dominos diuisus est, quamuis omnibus partibus seruitus debeatur, tamen opus est, ut hi, qui non proximas partes seruienti fundo habebunt, transitum per reliquas partes fundi diuisi iure habeant aut, si proximi patiantur, transeant.
If, however, the land to which the servitude is owed is divided among several owners in specific regions, although the servitude is owed to all parts, it is nevertheless necessary that those who will hold parts not adjacent to the serving land should either have by right a passage through the remaining parts of the divided land or, if those adjacent permit it, pass through.

Notes

  1. 8.3.23.procto pedibus — Ablative of comparison modifying the comparatives latior and angustior, meaning "wider or narrower than eight feet."
  2. 8.3.23.3uenierit — From the verb ueneo (to be sold), which serves as the passive of uendo, in the perfect subjunctive (or future perfect indicative) third-person singular, rather than from uenio (to come). It means "even if the land has been sold in pieces."
  3. 8.3.23.3recte agant — The verb agere is used here in its technical legal sense, meaning "to bring an action" or "to sue." The subsequent accusative with infinitive clause (ius sibi esse eundi) details the substance of their legal claim (that they have the right of passage).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §8.3.23.pr-8.3.23.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:8.3.23.pr-8.3.23.3

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