1Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. The Prætor says: “Where anyone desires to institute proceedings to recover property delivered to him for good reason, and the title to which has not yet passed by usucaption, I will grant him an action.” 1The Prætor says, and very properly, “Where the title has not yet passed by usucaption”; for, if this has once taken place, he has a right to a civil action and does not require an honorary one. 2But why did he merely mention delivery and usucaption, when there are numerous provisions of the law by means of which anyone may obtain ownership, as, for instance, in case of a bequest?

2Paulus, On the Edict, Book XIX. Or donations made mortis causal For the Publician Action can be brought where possession has been lost, because it is obtained in the same way as a legacy.

3Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. And there are many other provisions of the law to the same effect. 1Ad Dig. 6,2,3,1Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 179, Note 7.The Prætor says: “He may bring suit for a good reason”; and not only is the Publician Action available by a purchaser in good faith, but also by others; as for instance, by one to whom property has been transferred by way of dowry, and which has not yet been acquired by usucaption; for a very good cause of action exists whether the property given by way of dowry was appraised or not. Likewise, where property is transferred on account of a judgment:

4Paulus, On the Edict, Book XIX. Or for the purpose of paying a debt,

5Ad Dig. 6,2,5Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 199, Note 6.Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. Or for the surrender of a slave in lieu of damages, whether there was good ground for this, or not.

6Paulus, On the Edict, Book XIX. Moreover, in a noxal action, where no defence was made, I can remove the slave by order of the Prætor and if, after removing him, I lose possession of him, I can avail myself of the Publician Action.

7Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. But if the property has been adjudged to me, I can bring the Publician Action. 1Where the value of the property is estimated in court it resembles a slave; and Julianus says in the Twenty-second Book of the Digest that, if the defendant tenders the amount of the appraisement, the Publician Action will lie. 2Ad Dig. 6,2,7,2Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 199, Note 5.Marcellus, in the Twenty-seventh Book of the Digest, says that where anyone purchases property from a person who is insane, being ignorant that this was the case, he can acquire it by usucaption; and therefore he will have a right to the Publician Action. 3Where anyone obtains property as a gift, he is entitled to the Publician Action; which also will lie against a donor; for the plaintiff is a lawful possessor where he accepts a donation. 4Ad Dig. 6,2,7,4Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 199, Note 6.Where a party purchases property from a minor, being ignorant that he is such, he has a right to the Publician Action. 5Also where an exchange has been made, the same action will lie. 6The Publician Action is not based on the question of possession, but upon that of ownership. 7If you tender me an oath in a suit which I have brought for the recovery of property, and I swear that the said property is mine, I am entitled to the Publician Action, but only against you; for the only person who can be prejudiced by the oath is the party who tendered it. If, however, the oath is tendered to the possessor, and he swears that the property does not belong to the plaintiff, he can make use of an exception only against the latter; for it does not operate to the extent of granting him a right of action. 8In the Publician Action, all those rules must be observed which we have mentioned in the action for the recovery of property. 9This action lies in favor of an heir as well as of prætorian successors. 10If I do not make a purchase, but my slave does, I am entitled to the Publician Action. The same rule applies where my agent, guardian, curator, or anyone else transacting my business makes a purchase. 11The Prætor says: “Who purchases in good faith”; therefore, it is not every purchase which can profit by the action, but only one made in good faith; hence it is enough if I am a purchaser in good faith even if I should not buy from the owner, although he may have made the sale to me with fraudulent intent; for the fraud of a vendor will not prejudice me. 12In this action it will be of no disadvantage to me if I am the successor of the purchaser, and acted fraudulently, where the party himself whom I succeeded made the purchase in good faith; and it will not profit me if I was not guilty of fraud, where the purchaser whom I succeeded was guilty of fraud. 13If, however, my slave made the purchase, his fraud, and not mine, must be considered; and vice versa. 14The Publician Action has reference to the time of the purchase, and therefore it is held by Pomponius that nothing which was fraudulently done, either before or after the purchase was made, can become the subject of investigation in this action. 15This action has reference to the good faith of the purchaser alone. 16Therefore, in order for the Publician Action to be available, the following conditions must exist: the person who made the purchase must have acted in good faith, and the property purchased must have been delivered to him with that understanding. But even if he made the purchase in good faith, he cannot make use of the Publician Action before delivery. 17Julianus stated in the Seventh Book of the Digest, that the delivery of the property purchased must be made in good faith; and therefore if the party knowingly fakes possession of something that belongs to another, he cannot avail himself of the Publician Action, because he will not be able to acquire the property by usucaption. Nor must anyone think that it is our opinion that it is sufficient for the purchaser to be ignorant that the property belonged to another at the commencement of delivery, in order to enable him to make use of the Publician Action, but it is necessary that he should be a bona fide purchaser at that time also.

8Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book VII. Nothing, however, is stated with reference to the payment of the purchase-money; wherefore it must be conjectured that it is not the opinion of the Prætor that it should be asked whether the price has been paid or not.

9Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. The Publician Action is equally available whether the property is delivered to the purchaser or to his heir. 1Where a party purchases property which has been deposited with him, or loaned or pledged to him, it must be considered as having been delivered, if it remains in his possession after the purchase. 2The same rule will apply where the delivery preceded the purchase. 3Moreover, if I purchase an estate, and certain property belonging to it has been delivered to me for which I wish to bring suit, Neratius states that I will be entitled to the Publician Action. 4Ad Dig. 6,2,9,4Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 199, Note 13.Where anyone sells the same property separately to two bona fide purchasers, let us see which of them has the better right to the Publician Action; he to whom the property was first delivered, or he who merely bought it? Julianus, in the Seventh Book of the Digest, states: “That if the parties made the purchase from the same person who was not the owner, he will be preferred to whom delivery was made first; but if they buy said property from different persons who were not the owners, the one in possession is in a better legal position than the one who brings the action; and this opinion is correct.” 5This action is not available with reference to property which cannot be acquired by usucaption; as, for instance, in the case of articles that had been stolen, or fugitive slaves. 6Where a slave belonging to an estate purchases property before the estate has been entered upon, and after delivery loses possession of the same; the heir, very properly, has a right to the Publician Action, just as if he himself had been in possession. The members of a municipality also, where property has been delivered to their slave, will be in the same position;

10Paulus, On the Edict, Book XIX. Whether the slave purchased said property with reference to his own peculium, or not.

11Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. Where I have made a purchase, and the property has been delivered to another party at my request, the Emperor Severus stated in a Rescript that the Publician Action should be granted him. 1Ad Dig. 6,2,11,1Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 217, Note 9.The Publician Action is granted where suit is brought for the recovery of an usufruct which has been delivered, and also where servitudes of urban estates have been created by delivery, or by sufferance; for instance, where a party allowed an aqueduct to be built through his house. The same rule applies in the case of rustic servitudes, for it is established that in this case delivery and sufferance protect them. 2The offspring of a stolen female slave that was conceived while she was in possession of a bona fide purchaser, can be recovered by means of this action; even if the child was not in possession of the party who purchased it; but the heir of the thief is not entitled to this action, because he is the successor to the defective title of the deceased. 3Sometimes, however, even though the mother who was stolen had not been sold, but was presented to me (I being ignorant of the fact) and she afterwards conceived and brought forth while in my possession, I am entitled to a Publician Action to recover the child, as Julianus says; provided that, at the time I bring suit, I do not know that the mother was stolen. 4Julianus also states, in a general way, that no matter how I could acquire the mother by usucaption, if she had not been stolen, I can acquire the child in the same way, if I was ignorant that the mother had been stolen. Therefore, in all these instances, I will be entitled to the Publician Action. 5The same rule applies in the case of the child of the daughter of a female slave, even if it was not born, but after the death of its mother was extracted from her womb by the Cæsarean operation; as Pomponius stated in the Fortieth Book. 6He also says that where a house has been purchased and is destroyed, any additions made to it can be recovered by an action of this description. 7Where an accession is made to land by alluvial deposit, it becomes of the same nature as that to which it is added; and therefore since the land itself cannot be recovered by a Publician Action, the addition cannot be either; but if it can, the portion added by alluvion may be also recovered; and this was mentioned by Pomponius. 8He also adds that, where an action is to be brought for parts of a purchased statue which have been removed, a similar action is available. 9He also states, that if I purchase a vacant lot and build a house upon it, I can properly make use of the Publician Action. 10He also says, if I build a house, and the lot afterwards becomes vacant, I can likewise make use of the Publician Action.

12Paulus, On the Edict, Book XIX. Where a man presented a slave to his betrothed, and, before the title passed by usucaption, received him back by way of dowry; it was stated by the Divine Pius in a Rescript that if the parties were divorced, the slave should be returned, for a gift between two betrothed persons is valid; and therefore she, as the possessor, will be granted an exception; and if possession should have been lost, the Publician Action would be granted, whether a stranger or the donor was in possession of the property. 1Where an estate is delivered to anyone under the Trebellian Decree of the Senate, even if the party should not obtain possession of the same, he can make use of the Publician Action. 2Ad Dig. 6,2,12,2Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 182, Note 5; Bd. I, § 199, Note 11.In the case of perpetual leases and other real property which can not be acquires by usucaption, the Publician Action is available where a bona fide delivery of the land has been made. 3The same rule applies where I purchased in good faith, from a person who is not the owner, a house which carried with it the surface of the land. 4If the property is of such a nature that some law or constitution forbids its alienation, in this instance the Publician Action will not lie, because, under such circumstances, the Prætor affords no protection to anyone to prevent his breaking the law. 5We can make use of the Publician Action even in the case of an infant slave less than a year old. 6Where anyone wishes to recover a portion of some property he can avail himself of the Publician Action. 7He also can properly employ this action who has had possession only for a moment.

13Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book VII. Wherever property is legally acquired by us in any way and is lost, this action will be granted to us for the purpose of recovering said property. 1Sometimes, however, the Publician Action can not be brought by persons who have lawfully obtained possession; for possession derived from pledge and precarious gifts is lawful; but a right of action is not usually allowed in cases of this kind, of course, for the reason that neither the creditor nor the party who has a precarious title obtains possession with the understanding that he shall believe himself to be the owner. 2Ad Dig. 6,2,13,2Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. I, § 199, Note 6.When anyone makes a purchase from a minor, he must prove that he did so with the consent of his guardian, and not in violation of law. But where he made the purchase through the deceit of a pretended guardian, he is held to have acted in good faith.

14Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XVI. Papinianus states in the Sixth Book of Questions, that where a man forbids delivery or gives notice, and the property has been sold by his agent at his request, and the agent delivered it in spite of this; the Prætor will protect the purchaser, whether he is in possession, or whether he brings an action to recover the property. But where the agent is compelled to make payment to the purchaser on account of an action based on purchase, the former can recover in a counter action on mandate; for it might happen that the property could be recovered from the purchaser by the party who gave the order to sell it, because through ignorance he did not make use of the exception which he should have pleaded, for instance: “If the party with whom I dealt did not make the sale with your consent”.

15Pomponius, On Sabinus, Book III. If my slave, while in flight, purchases property from some one who is not the owner, the Publician Action will lie in my favor, even though I may not have obtained possession, through him, of the property delivered.

16Papinianus, Questions, Book X. Paulus states in a note that an exception on the ground of legal ownership may be pleaded in bar of the Publician Action.

17Neratius, Parchments, Book III. The Publician Action was not invented for the purpose of depriving the real owner of his property (and this is proved in the first place on equitable principles; and in the second place by the use of the exception: “If the property in dispute does not belong to the possessor”); but, for the reason that where a man purchases anything in good faith and has obtained possession of it, he, rather than his adversary, should be entitled to hold it.