Novels

or NOVELLAE CONSTITUtiones.

In civil law

The name given to the constitutions or laws of Justinian and his immediate successors, which were promulgated soon after the Code of Justinian. It appears to have been the intention of Justinian, after the completion of the second and revised edition of the Code, to supply what had not been foreseen in the preceding laws,, together with any necessary amendments or alterations, not by revising the Code, but by supplementary laws. Such laws he promulgated from time to time; but no official compilation of them is known to have been made until after his death, when his laws, one hundred and fifty-nine in number; with those of the reigns of Justin II. and Tiberias, nine in number, were collect-,ed, together with some local edicts, under this name. They belong to various times between 535 and 565 A. D. NOVERINT UNIVERSI PER PRAEsentes (Law Lat.) Know all men by these presents. Words with which deeds, obliga- § 445; West, Symb. pars 1, lib.

2, §§ 102, 518, 522-525.

NOVI OPERIS NUNCIATIO (Lat.) In the civil law, A protest against or prohibition of a new work. Where a person began to build up or to pull down something (which was technically called novum opus, a new work), another person, who feared that his right would be impaired thereby, might extrajudicially hinder the completion of the work, by protesting before the workmen on the spot, or before some one present representing the owner, against the prosecution of the work, and forbidding the same.

Dig. 39. 1; Id. 43, 24; Code, 8, 11.

See "Opus Novum,"