TITLE III. CONCERNING BOUNDARIES AND LANDMARKS.
| I. | How Boundaries and Landmarks shall be Preserved. |
| II. | Concerning the Destruction and Removal of Landmarks. |
| III. | What is to be Done when a Dispute Arises Concerning Boundaries. |
| IV. | Where One Person makes a Claim to Land Included within the Boundaries of Another. |
| V. | Where any Change was made in the Boundaries of Land During the Time of the Romans, no Claim Based upon Other Boundaries shall Prevail. |
I. How Boundaries and Landmarks shall be Preserved.
We hereby decree that all ancient landmarks and boundaries shall stand as established in former times, and that they shall not be disturbed or removed.
II. Concerning the Destruction and Removal of Landmarks.
Whoever levels any landmarks for the purpose of travel, or dares to remove any established landmarks, for every landmark so fraudulently disturbed, if he is a freeman, he shall pay twenty solidi; and if he is a slave he shall receive fifty lashes, and shall restore said landmark. If any person while plowing land, or planting a vineyard, should involuntarily disturb a landmark, he shall restore the same in the presence of the neighbors, and shall not, thereafter, be liable to any damage or penalty for removing the same.
III. What is to be Done when a Dispute Arises Concerning Boundaries.
Whenever a dispute arises concerning the boundaries of land, search shall be made for the old landmarks; that is to say, the mounds of earth, or squared stones, which, in ancient times, were made or placed in order to define the boundaries of lands; or for any stones which have been buried, and are carved to show that they were intended as landmarks. Should any of said landmarks be wanting, search must then be made for such trees as might have been marked in former times, to define the boundaries between different tracts of land.
THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
IV. Where One Person makes a Claim to Land Included within the Boundaries of Another.
Where anyone inherits or acquires land within the boundaries of another person, or, during the absence, or without the knowledge of the owner of the same, obtains possession of such land for a long period of time, or for more than the term of fifty years, even though his occupation of said property was public and notorious, he shall have no permanent title thereto; and as soon as the boundaries of said land shall have been established by the discovery of the ancient landmarks, by persons appointed to find the same, he shall restore said land so appropriated to the owner thereof. Nor shall any obligation of the owner, nor undisputed possession for a long period of time, avail against the ancient landmarks, when they are discovered. But it must be proved, if it can be ascertained, whether said land was acquired by one of the contesting parties or by the ancestors of either of them; for if such time should have elapsed that neither of said parties, nor any of their ancestors, knew who first obtained the title to or possession of said property, and the party in possession is unable to show by an instrument in writing, or by witnesses, whence the title to said premises was derived, because the fact of original possession is in doubt; whoever of said claimants is in possession of said land at the time shall have an irrevocable right to retain it. Where, however, one person seems to have been in possession of said land without the other claimant asserting any right to the same, and such possession shall be public, and apparently established by existing landmarks, and no evidence of fraud be disclosed; it is not reasonable that the title of the owner should be lost by reason of its occupation for a protracted period by another.
Where one person has obtained possession of land by force or fraud, this shall in no wise affect the rights of another claimant. If, however, one person should attempt to gain possession of property occupied by another, not through fraud or insolence, but by a judicial proceeding, if his claim is just, he shall be entitled to possession of said property. But if, unknown to the owner, he should unexpectedly attempt to gain possession of the land of the latter, the owner of the same shall have the right to accuse him of being a trespasser with violence, and, by legal proceedings, compel him to surrender said property.
V. Where any Change was made in the Boundaries of Land During the Time of the Romans, no Claim Based upon Other Boundaries shall Prevail.
Where real property, in which any person claims an interest, was disposed of before the coming of the Goths, and was transferred to the possession of another party either by sale, donation, partition, or any other transaction, whatever title or right to said property shall be proved to have been formerly conveyed by the Romans shall remain inviolable. But where a title to real property cannot be established by any certain landmarks or boundaries, the following proceeding must be observed, to wit: an examination of the premises must be made by persons selected by the consent of all parties; and the judge, for his own information, shall cause the oldest residents of the neighborhood to be sworn, that they will, without fraud, show where the boundaries of the land in question are situated; and no one shall establish a new boundary without the presence of the other party, or in the absence of one of the inspectors appointed by common consent, as aforesaid. If a freeman should violate this provision, he shall be liable for the penalty of forcible entry, as prescribed by law. Where a slave commits this offence, without the knowledge of his master, he shall receive two hundred lashes in public, but his master shall incur no liability for his act.[50]