Ad Dig. 2,15,6Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. II, § 414, Note 12.Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. In controversies arising out of a will no compromise can take place, nor can the truth of the facts be inquired into, unless an examination and interpretation of the words of the will is made.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. The question has been raised whether an action on account of an usufruct should be granted a municipality? In this instance there seems to be danger that the usufruct may become perpetual, because it could not be lost by death, nor easily by change of civil condition; for which reason the ownership would be worthless, as the usufruct would always be separate from it. It, nevertheless, has been established that an action should be granted. Whence another doubt arises, that is to say, how long a municipality should be protected in the enjoyment of an usufruct? It has been settled that it will be protected for a hundred years, because this is the term of the longest life of man.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book LXX. Where an individual is under the control of his father, he has no right to make a will; and to such an extent is this true that even if the father should grant him permission, he, nevertheless, cannot legally execute a will. 1Persons who are deaf and dumb cannot make a will, but where anyone becomes dumb or deaf through illness, or any other accident, after the will has been executed, it will still be valid.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book VII. A will executed by a person while in the power of the enemy is not valid, even though he should return. 1Where fire and water have been forbidden to anyone, no will which he made previously or subsequently will be valid, and whatever property he was possessed of at the time of his condemnation shall be confiscated; or, if it does not seem to be sufficiently valuable for this to be done it shall be abandoned to his creditors. 2Persons who have been deported to an island are in the same condition. 3Those, however, who have been relegated to an island, and such as have been forbidden to remain in Italy or in their own province, retain the right to make a will. 4Moreover, those who have been sentenced to fight in the arena, or to be thrown to wild beasts, or to work in the mines, forfeit their liberty, and their property is confiscated; from whence it is evident that they lose the right to make a will.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. Among other things which are necessarily provided for in the execution of wills, one of the most important has reference to the appointment or disinheritance of children as heirs; lest, they having been passed over, the will may be broken; for a will is void where a son who is under paternal control is passed over.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. We can appoint as heirs not only slaves but freemen, provided that the slaves belong to parties whom themselves we can appoint, since the making of a will with reference to slaves is a right derived from the authority of their masters. 1The power to appoint a slave who forms part of an estate before the estate has been entered upon is based upon the principle that the estate is considered to be the owner of the slave, and to occupy the place of the deceased.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. The Prætor promises that he will grant the privilege of examining and copying a will to all who desire to inspect one or copy it. It is plain that he will grant this permission to anyone who desires it either in his own name or in that of another. 1Ad Dig. 29,3,1,1Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. II, § 414, Note 12.The reason for the adoption of this Edict is plain; for one cannot, without judicial authority, carry out the provisions of a will, nor can the truth be ascertained by the court in those controversies which arise out of the interpretations of wills, except by the examination and investigation of the language contained therein. 2Where anyone refuses to acknowledge his seal, this does not prevent the opening of a will, but it becomes suspicious for this reason.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. The heir is, nevertheless, entitled to an action for the recovery of the will, just as for property belonging to the estate, and on this account he can bring an action to compel the production of the will.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. Even if the heir should not come into possession of the entire estate, or a large portion of the same on the ground of intestacy, but only of a very small part of that for which he was appointed, and also where he only holds a single article belonging to it, he will be liable under this Edict.

The Same, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. For this is not unjust, since the person suffers this inconvenience through his own fault,

The Same, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. If anyone, having relinquished his rights under the will, should not be in possession of the entire estate, the legatees are excluded; for everyone should be free to reject even a profitable inheritance, even though in this way legacies and grants of freedom may be annulled. It has been provided, however, with reference to estates bequeathed in trust, that if the appointed heir should decline to accept the estate, he can be compelled to do so by order of the Prætor, and to surrender it to the beneficiaries of the trust; but this advantage is not enjoyed by those to whom separate articles have been bequeathed by way of trust, any more than it is by legatees.

The Same, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. Moreover, where a patron has been appointed heir to the whole estate, and by renouncing his rights under the will obtains possession ab intestato, he should always be entitled to the benefit of the share which is due to him, and which he would have obtained if he had entered upon the estate by virtue of the will.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. When the property of a deceased person is confiscated by the Treasury because his death was unavenged, an action is granted against it in favor of the legatees, and all grants of freedom to slaves shall be perfected; that is to say, of such as are excepted from the provisions of the Decree of the Senate.

Gaius, On the Provincial Edict, Book XVII. It is provided by the Cornelian Law with reference to the reward to which an accuser is entitled who seeks out and gives information of the whereabouts of slaves who have fled before torture was applied, that he shall receive five aurei out of the estate of the deceased for each slave that he convicts, or if this sum can not be obtained from that source, it shall be paid out of the Public Treasury. This reward shall not be given for the apprehension and conviction of every slave who was under the same roof and in the same place with the deceased, but only for those who are found guilty of the murder. 1It is also provided with reference to those slaves who fled before torture was applied, that if, after the will has been opened, it should be found that they were granted their freedom thereby, judgment shall be rendered in accordance with the law relating to assassins: so that they cannot defend themselves after having been imprisoned, and that if they are convicted, they shall be punished just like slaves, and ten aurei shall be taken out of the estate, by way of reward, and given to the party who convicted them. 2Proceedings are instituted under this Edict against a person who, contrary to the provisions of the Edict of the Prætor, is said to have opened the will, or to have committed some other act, in violation of them; for (as in evident from what has been previously stated) there are many things on account of which the penalty prescribed by the Edict can be imposed. It is clear that this action is a popular one, and its penalty is a hundred aurei to be taken from the property of the person who is convicted; and the Prætor promises that half of said sum shall be given by way of reward to him by whose efforts the criminal was found guilty, and the other half shall be turned into the Public Treasury.