Sulla difesa del servo assente da parte del terzo nel processo nossale classico. A proposito di D. 9.4.21.1 (Ulp. 23 ad ed.)

The paper aims to revise the traditional opinion, based on D. 9.4.21.1 (Ulp. 23 ad ed.), that in the noxal proceeding a non dominus could never defend a slave absent in iure. According to the author no technical reason justifies this opinion and D. 9.4.39.1 (Iul. 9 dig.) contradicts it. Therefore D. 9.4.21.1 should be interpreted in a differet way: a non dominus could defend a slave absent in iure by giving a positive answer to the interrogatio ‘an servus in potestate eius sit’; otherwise he would have to produce the slave in court, if in possession of him, in order to allow the claimant the ductio.