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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §8.6.9.pr

Preservation of Aqueduct Servitude by Partial Waterflow

Passage 1495 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Javolenus discusses the exercise of the servitude of drawing water, stating that if water flows into a part of the watercourse, the right is deemed exercised for the whole, even if the water does not reach the end.

[IAUOLENUS libro tertio ex Plautio. ] §8.6.9.prAqua si in partem aquagi influxit, etiamsi non ad ultima loca peruenit, omnibus tamen partibus usurpatur.
[JAVOLENUS, from the third book on Plautius.] If water has flowed into a part of the watercourse, even if it has not reached the furthest places, the right is nevertheless exercised for all parts.

Notes

  1. §8.6.9.prusurpatur — The verb usurpare is used in Roman law to mean 'to exercise or preserve a right in order to prevent its loss by non-use (non usus)'. In continuity with the context of the preceding 8.6.8.1 (totum ius usurpare uidetur), the implied subject of this verb is understood to be 'the right of drawing water (ius aquae ducendae)' or the right over the watercourse (aquagium). While it is grammatically possible to take the sentence-initial aqua as the subject ('the water is used'), the legal substance lies in the preservation and exercise of the right.
  2. §8.6.9.promnibus partibus — An ablative of instrument, place, or scope, meaning 'in all parts' or 'with respect to all parts'. It signifies that even if water flows through only a part of the watercourse, the right of drawing water is deemed to be exercised for all parts of it (thereby preventing the loss of the right as a whole).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §8.6.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:8.6.9.pr

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