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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.2.33.pr-9.2.33.1

Objective Valuation of Damages and Action on the Facts

Passage 1550 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus argues that the valuation of damages under the Lex Aquilia should be based on objective, common value rather than subjective affection, and states that an action on the facts is available for damages not covered by the law.

[PAULUS libro secundo ad Plautium. ] §9.2.33.prSi seruum meum occidisti, non affectiones aestimandas esse puto, ueluti si filium tuum naturalem quis occiderit quem tu magno emptum uelles, sed quanti omnibus ualeret.
[PAULUS, in the second book on Plautius.] If you have killed my slave, I think that personal affection is not to be estimated, as for instance if someone has killed your natural son whom you would have wished to purchase at a high price, but rather what his value would be to everyone.
Sextus quoque Pedius ait pretia rerum non ex affectione nec utilitate singulorum, sed communiter fungi: itaque eum, qui filium naturalem possidet, non eo locupletiorem esse, quod eum plurimo, si alius possideret, redempturus fuit, nec illum, qui filium alienum possideat, tantum habere, quanti eum patri uendere posset.
Sextus Pedius also says that the prices of things perform their function not according to the personal affection or utility of individuals, but commonly; therefore, a person who possesses his own natural son is not any the richer on the ground that he would have redeemed him at a very high price if another possessed him, nor does a person who possesses another's son have as much as he could sell him for to his father.
in lege enim Aquilia damnum consequimur: et amisisse dicemur, quod aut consequi potuimus aut erogare cogimur.
For under the Lex Aquilia we recover our damage, and we are said to have lost what we either could have obtained or are compelled to pay out.
§9.2.33.1In damnis, quae lege Aquilia non tenentur, in factum datur actio.
In the case of damages which are not covered by the Lex Aquilia, an action on the facts is granted.

Notes

  1. §9.2.33.prredempturus fuit — The combination of the future participle and the perfect indicative (the active periphrastic conjugation) is used here in the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact conditional sentence (`si alius possideret`). Instead of the standard subjunctive imperfect (or pluperfect), this indicative construction emphasizes the past intention or likelihood of the action.
  2. §9.2.33.prcommuniter fungi — The infinitive `fungi` (from `fungor`) is used here in an intransitive sense meaning "to perform their function" or "to be operated," indicating that the prices of things (`pretia rerum`) do not depend on the subjective circumstances of individuals (`singulorum`), but are determined commonly and objectively in society at large.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.2.33.pr-9.2.33.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.33.pr-9.2.33.1

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