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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.4.1.pr

Definition of Noxal Actions and Noxal Surrender of Slaves

Passage 1582 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius defines noxal actions, which arise from the wrongdoing of slaves rather than contract, and explains their core mechanism: allowing the owner, if condemned, to avoid pecuniary damages by surrendering the slave's body.

[GAIUS libro secundo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §9.4.1.prNoxales actiones appellantur, quae non ex contractu, sed ex noxa atque maleficio seruorum aduersus nos instituuntur: quarum actionum uis et potestas haec est, ut, si damnati fuerimus, liceat nobis deditione ipsius corporis quod deliquerit euitare litis aestimationem.
[GAIUS, Book 2 on the Provincial Edict] Noxal actions are those which are instituted against us, not from contract, but from the harm and wrongdoing of slaves; the force and power of which actions is this: that, if we should be condemned, we are permitted to avoid the assessment of damages by the surrender of the very body which committed the wrong.

Notes

  1. §9.4.1.prquarum actionum uis et potestas haec est, ut... — The relative adjective 'quarum' refers back to 'noxales actiones'. The demonstrative pronoun 'haec' is explained by the appositive 'ut' clause ('liceat...'), which contains the nested conditional clause 'si damnati fuerimus'.
  2. §9.4.1.prdeditione ipsius corporis quod deliquerit — The ablative 'deditione' expresses means ('by the surrender'). 'corporis' (body) in this legal context refers to the physical person of the slave. The verb 'deliquerit' in the relative clause presupposes that the 'corpus' (body) refers to a slave capable of committing a delict ('which committed the wrong').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.4.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.4.1.pr

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