Corpus Juris Civilis

The Corpus Iuris Civilis ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It is also sometimes referred to metonymically after one of its parts, the Code of Justinian.

Quotes

• Digna vox maiestate regnantis legibus alligatum se principem profiteri: adeo de auctoritate iuris nostra pendet auctoritas.
  • It is a statement worthy of the majesty of a reigning prince for him to profess to be subject to the laws; for Our authority is dependent upon that of the law.
  • Codex, Bk. 1, title 14, section 4, quoting an edict of the emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III. Translated by S. P. Scott, The Civil Law, 17 vols. (Cincinnati, OH: The Central Trust Co, 1932) [1] [2]

Digest (Pandects)

• Cuius merito quis nos sacerdotes appellet: iustitiam namque colimus et boni et æqui notitiam profitemur, æquum ab iniquo separantes, licitum ab illicito discernentes, bonos non solum metu pœnarum, verum etiam præmiorum quoque exhortatione efficere cupientes, veram nisi fallor philosophiam, non simulatam affectantes.
  • Anyone may properly call us [lawyers] the priests of this art, for we cultivate justice and profess to know what is good and equitable, dividing right from wrong, and distinguishing what is lawful from what is unlawful; desiring to make men good through fear of punishment, but also by the encouragement of reward; aiming (if I am not mistaken) at a true, and not a pretended philosophy.
  • Bk. 1, title 1, section 1, quoting Ulpian, Institutes, Bk. 1. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932) [3]

• Quod vero naturalis ratio inter omnes homines constituit, id apud omnes peraeque custoditur vocaturque ius gentium.
  • That rule which natural reason has dictated to all men, is called the law of nations.
  • Bk. 1, title 1, section 9. Tr. J. W. Jones, A Translation of all the Greek, Latin, Italian, and French Quotations which occur in Blackstone's 'Commentaries on the Laws of England', &c. (Philadelphia, PA: T. & J. W. Johnson & Co, 1889) p. 5

• Domus tutissimum cuique refugium atque receptaculum sit.
  • The house of every individual should be for him a perfectly secure refuge and shelter.
  • Bk. 2, title 4, section 18, quoting Gaius, On the Law of the Twelve Tables, Bk. 1. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932) [4]
  • See also: W. F. H. King, Classical and Foreign Quotations, 3rd ed. (London: J. Whitaker & Sons, Ltd, 1904) no. 582, p. 75

• Nulla iniuria est, quæ in volentem fiat.
  • No injury is committed against one who consents.
  • Bk. 47, title 10, section 1, quoting Ulpian, On the Edict, Bk. 56. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932) [5]
  • Often quoted as "Volenti non fit injuria".

Institutes

• Incipientibus nobis exponere jura populi Romani, ita videntur tradi posse commodissime, si primo levi ac simplici via singula tradantur: alioqui, si statim ab initio rudem adhuc et infirmum animum studiosi multitudine ac varietate rerum oneravimus, duorum alterum, aut desertorem studiorum efficiemus, aut cum magno labore, sæpe etiam cum diffidentia (quæ plerumque juvenes avertit) serius ad id perducemus ad quod, leviore via ductus, sine magno labore, et sine ulla diffidentia maturius perduci potuisset.
  • To us about to expound the laws of the Romans, it seems that it may be done more advantageously if first delivered separately and in an easy and simple manner; otherwise, if in the very beginning we burden the mind of the student, as yet unexercised and weak, with a multitude and diversity of things, we either cause him to relinquish his studies altogether, or bring him much later, with great labor, and often with great diffidence (which very frequently deters young men) to that point, to which, conducted by a more easy method, he might have been brought earlier, with little trouble, and with sufficient confidence.
  • Bk. 1, title 1, sec. 2. Tr. J. W. Jones (1889) p. 4

• Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuens. Iurisprudentia est divinarum atque humanarum rerum notitia, iusti atque iniusti scientia.
  • Justice is the constant and perpetual desire to give to each one that to which he is entitled. Jurisprudence is the knowledge of matters divine and human, and the comprehension of what is just and what is unjust.
  • Bk. 1, title 1. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932) [6]

• Iuris præcepta sunt hæc: honeste vivere, neminem laedere, suum cuique tribuere.
  • The following are the precepts of the Law: to live honestly, not to injure another, and to give to each one that which belongs to him.
  • Bk. 1, title 1. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932)

• Quod vero naturalis ratio inter omnes homines constituit, id apud omnes populos peræque custoditur vocaturque ius gentium, quasi quo iure omnes gentes utuntur.
  • But the law which natural reason has established among all mankind and which is equally observed among all peoples, is called the Law of Nations, as being that which all nations make use of.
  • Bk. 1, title 2. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932) [7]

• Iure enim naturali ab initio omnes homines liberi nascebantur.
  • According to Natural Law, all men were originally born free.
  • Bk. 1, title 2. Tr. S. P. Scott (1932)

• Facultas ejus, quod cuique facere libet, nisi quid jure prohibetur.
  • Its essence is the power of doing whatsoever we please, unless where authority or law forbids.
  • Bk. 1, title 3, sec. 1. Tr. J. W. Jones (1889) p. 1

See also

• Justinian I