De libertis universitatium
(Concerning the freedmen of municipalities.)
1 Ulpianus libro quadragensimo nono ad edictum. Municipibus plenum ius in bonis libertorum libertarum defertur, hoc est id ius quod etiam patrono. 1Sed an omnino petere bonorum possessionem possint, dubitatur: movet enim, quod consentire non possunt, sed per alium possunt petita bonorum possessione ipsi adquirere. sed qua ratione senatus censuit, ut restitui eis ex Trebelliano hereditas possit: qua ratione alio senatus consulto heredibus eis institutis a liberto adquirere hereditatem permissum est: ita bonorum quoque possessionem petere dicendum est. 2Temporaque bonorum possessionis petendae cedere municipibus exinde, ex quo decernere de petenda potuerunt. quod et Papinianus respondit.
1 Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XLIX. Full rights over the estate of their freedmen and freedwomen is granted to municipalities, that is to say, they have the same rights over them as other patrons have. 1Is there, however, any doubt whether they can demand prætorian possession of the estates of their freedman? There is some difficulty on this point, because they cannot give their consent, still, they can obtain prætorian possession through the agency of another. But, as the Senate decided that estates should be transferred to them under the Trebellian Decree, so, by virtue of another decree, when a municipality has been appointed heir by a freedman, it is permitted to acquire his estate; hence it must be said that it can obtain prætorian possession of the estates of its freedmen. 2The time fixed for claiming prætorian possession of the estate of a freedman begins to run against a municipality from the date when it passes an ordinance authorizing the demand. This was also the opinion of Papinianus.