Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XLVIII. The Divine Hadrian decreed that if anyone, while endeavoring to obtain possession of an estate to which he was entitled either by descent or by will, should prevent a person from entering, who had been sent for, either to draw up a will which the testator desired to execute, or to change one already made, he shall be denied the right to bring any action, and when this is done, the Treasury will be entitled to the estate. 1Where a master acting in bad faith prevents a will from being changed by which his slave had been appointed heir, even though, having been manumitted, the latter should enter upon the estate, he shall be denied all rights of action, and his children, if anything has been left to them, shall also lose their rights, even though they are not under his control. Where, however, a legacy has been left to the master in trust, and he is requested to pay it, it must be said that he can receive the legacy, since he himself is not entitled to it, but it must be transferred to another. 2Where several heirs have been appointed, and all of them are guilty of bad faith in preventing a will from being changed, it must be said that rights of action shall be refused all of them, because all have acted fraudulently.

Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XLVIII. There is no reason to doubt that persons can, very frequently, obtain prætorian possession against the Treasury, and against a municipality; as, for example, where an unborn child, a lunatic, or one who is a captive in the hands of the enemy, claims prætorian possession of property. 1Whenever a law, a Decree of the Senate, or an Imperial Constitution forbids an estate to be taken, prætorian possession of it will not apply.

The Same, On the Edict, Book XLVIII. We should understand a person who has been convicted of a capital crime to be found guilty of an offence which entails death, the loss of civil rights, or servitude. 1It is established that after deportation has been substituted for the interdiction of water and fire, the defendant does not lose his citizenship until the Emperor has decided that he shall be deported to an island. For there is no doubt that the Governor cannot deport him, but the Prefect of the City has a right to do so, and he is considered to have lost his citizenship immediately after the sentence of the Prefect has been pronounced. 2We understand him to have been condemned who has not appealed; if, however, he should appeal, he is not yet considered to be convicted. But if he should be found guilty of a capital crime by someone who had not the right to do so, the result will be the same, for a person is only convicted whose condemnation stands.