Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.4.23.pr

Liability on Regaining a Slave and Denial of Exceptions

Passage 1604 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that if the defendant (owner) subsequently comes to have the slave in his power after the previous suit, he is held liable based on the new possession, and any exception (such as res judicata) is denied to him.

[GAIUS libro sexto ad edictum prouinciale. ] §9.4.23.prSed et si postea aduersarius eius in potestate habere coeperit seruum, tenetur ex noua possessione denegata ei exceptione.
[GAIUS, Book 6 of the Commentary on the Provincial Edict] But also if afterwards his adversary begins to have the slave in his power, he is held liable on the basis of the new possession, the exception being denied to him.

Notes

  1. §9.4.23.praduersarius eius — The genitive pronoun `eius` refers to the plaintiff (`actor`) mentioned in the preceding section (§9.4.22.4), and thus `aduersarius eius` refers to his adversary, the defendant owner of the slave.
  2. §9.4.23.prdenegata ei exceptione — Ablative absolute. The "exception" (`exceptio`) denied here refers to the defense of res judicata (`exceptio rei iudicatae`) or similar, arising from the previous judgment in which the defendant was acquitted due to the plaintiff's failure of proof. Because a new cause—the new possession (`noua possessione`)—has arisen, the defendant cannot block the new action with this defense.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.4.23.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.4.23.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.