1.1.97 to 1.1.100

(65) It sometimes happens that children when born are not under the control of their fathers but are afterwards subjected to their authority. (66) For instance, under the Lex Ælia Sentia ,if a Latin, after having married, should have a son who is a Latin by a Latin mother, or who is a Roman citizen by a Roman mother, he will not have him under his control; but if he should afterwards obtain the right of Roman citizenship by the evidence required by law, his son will, at the same time, be brought under his power. (67) Likewise, if a Roman citizen should marry a Latin or a foreign woman through ignorance, believing that she was a Roman citizen, and should have a son, the latter will not be under his control because he will not be a Roman citizen, but either a Latin or a foreigner; that is to say, he will belong to the same condition as his mother, as no child follows the condition of its father unless the right to legal marriage existed between its parents; but by a Decree of the Senate it is permitted to prove the cause of error, and in this way the wife and the son will both obtain Roman citizenship, and the son will, from that time, begin to be under the control of his father. The same rule applies where a Roman citizen marries a woman belonging to the class of the dediticii ,except that the wife does not become a Roman citizen. (68) Moreover, if a female Roman citizen should, through mistake, marry a foreigner under the impression that he was a Roman citizen, she will be permitted to prove the cause of error, and in this way both her son and her husband will obtain Roman citizenship, and, at the same time, the son will begin to be subject to the authority of the father. The same rule also applies if the woman marries a foreigner as a Latin under the terms of the Lex Ælia Sentia ,as provision for a case of this kind is specially made by the Decree of the Senate. Again, the same rule applies to a certain extent if she should marry a man belonging to the class of the dediticii ,as being either a Roman citizen or a Latin under the provisions of the Lex Ælia Sentia ,except that her husband belonging to the class of the dediticii remains in the same condition, and therefore his son, although he becomes a Roman citizen, is not subjected to the authority of his father.