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Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/449

Context

Early in his reign the emperor Justinian directed a comprehensive reform of Roman Law that compiled and edited earlier jurisprudence. This new sole authority on legal matters, the Body of Civil Law (Corpus iuris civilis), contained three parts, the Code, Digest, and Institutes. The Institutes was developed under the quaestor Tribonian and the scholars Theophilus and Dorotheus and published on November 21, 533 C.E. It was distilled from earlier authoritative compilations, particularly the Institutes by Gaius of the mid-2nd century C.E., to serve as an instructional text, but also as a statement of basic law in force. In this passage from the section “Ineffective stipulations” (de inutilibus stipulationibus), the compilers address the invalidation of various conditions attached to legal agreements. They cite a law issued following the request of lawyers at Caesarea, stating that parties to an obligation must be present, or that they prove presence by documentation, unless there is clear evidence of absence by records or witnesses.

Text

Item verborum obligatio inter absentes concepta inutilis est. sed cum hoc materiam litium contentiosis hominibus praestabat, forte post tempus tales allegationes opponentibus et non praesentes esse vel se vel adversarios suos contendentibus: ideo nostra constitutio propter celeritatem dirimendarum litium introducta est, quam ad Caesarienses advocatos scripsimus, per quam disposuimus, tales scripturas quae praesto esse partes indicant omnimodo esse credendas, nisi ipse qui talibus utitur improbis allegationibus manifestissimis probationibus vel per scripturam vel per testes idoneos approbaverit, in ipso toto die quo conficiebatur instrumentum sese vel adversarium suum in aliis locis esse. 1

Textual Note

Ed. Mommsen and Krueger [1886] 2000

Translation

Next, a verbal obligation made between persons who are not present with one another is void. This rule, however, afforded contentious persons opportunities for litigation, by alleging after some interval that they, or their adversaries, had not been present on the occasion in question. That is why to speed up litigation we issued a constitution addressed to the advocates of Caesarea. Thereby we enacted that written documents which indicate that the parties were present shall be taken as conclusive, unless the person who resorts to such suspect allegations proves by the clearest evidence either in writing or from respectable witnesses that, during the whole day on which the document was made, he or his adversary was in another place.2

Translation Note

Revised from Birks and McLeod 1987 with ref. to Moyle 1913

Works Cited

  • 1 Ulpian and Paul, Corpus iuris civilis I: Novellae Institutiones; Digesta, ed. Theodor Mommsen and Paul Krueger, repr. Hildesheim: Weidmann, 2000, vol. 1 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1886), bk: 3, ch: 19.12.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
  • 2 Justinian I, The Institutes of Justinian Translated into English, trans. John Baron Moyle, 5th ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), p: 139.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record

Additional Bibliography

  • Justinian I, Justinian’s Institutes, trans. Peter Birks and Grant McLeod (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987), p: 110-111.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
About This Text

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published April 28, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/449.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published April 28, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/449.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

  • Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
  • Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
  • David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Justinian I, Institutes 3.19.12”

Additional Credit:

  • Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
  • TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
  • Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
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