Martha, a woman of illustrious birth, has presented a petition to Us which sets forth that Sergius, her father of magnificent memory, died while she was of extremely tender age. Auxentia, her mother, who was also of high rank, after having, in the Bureau of Public Records, taken the oath not to marry again, was accorded the guardianship of her daughter, and administered her property. But afterwards, just as if she had not taken the oath, Auxentia abandoned the administration of her child's patrimony, and left it in a deplorable condition, included very little in the inventory which she made, and married a second time, appointing Peter guardian of her daughter. Having had issue by her second marriage, she manifested very little affection for Martha, and the guardian that she had given her having relinquished his administration when she had hardly reached her thirteenth year, she demanded a curator. Her mother also induced her to surrender her receipts, and to renounce all rights of action based on the rendition of accounts, which could be exercised against her in accordance with law, and she exacted this renunciation although her daughter was entirely ignorant of what had occurred during her infancy. Being dependent upon her mother, who was bringing her up, it was impossible for her to oppose anything which was done to her prejudice, or to act in such a way as to prevent any injury to herself which might cause the loss of her property. But when she had arrived at an age when she could understand the advice which had been given her contrary to her interests, she implored her mother not to make use of any documents which she had fraudulently obtained, and to return to her the property to which she was entitled. Her mother, however, being disposed to favor the children of the second marriage, instead of rendering her accounts, had recourse to Our Imperial Law which provides that one cannot claim restitution in opposition to his own act, although this law did not apply to mothers who contracted second marriages after having obtained the guardianship of their children. This is the substance of the petition which Martha presented to Us, and she wishes to have the spirit of Our Imperial Constitution explained, and that We remove the doubts to which it gives rise, in order that Auxentia, her mother, may not wrongfully have authority to appropriate to her own use the property left to her by her father.

  Therefore, in consideration of the petition of Martha, We issue the present Pragmatic Sanction, by which We direct that as Our preceding law does not mention women who, after having obtained the guardianship of their children, contract second marriages, Auxentia shall not be allowed to take advantage of it. But, for the aforesaid reasons, and because of the documents under which she obtained the guardianship of her daughter, Martha, she, in conformity to law, swore that she would not contract a second marriage, and as she treated her oath with contempt and married another husband, and, after having had children by him, exacted receipts from her daughter, in order to escape liability, We permit Martha to bring suit for complete restitution against her mother, above all, as she alleges that she has not yet passed the twenty-fifth year of her age, and We forbid the constitution by which We have prohibited children from demanding restitution against their parents, or freedmen from demanding it against their patrons, to be invoked in this instance, because the said constitution is not applicable to women who have obtained the guardianship of their children. And as, on the. other hand, We afterwards promulgated another law, which prohibits parents from accepting the guardianship of their children, unless, at the time of their appointment, they stated in the Bureau of Public Records that they would not leave their wards without proper defence, which law also requires the mother, who is a guardian, to state that she will render her tutelary accounts — a proceeding which renders her responsible for her administration when she desires to appoint another guardian in her stead — it is proper, under all circumstances, that if Martha can prove that the time during which she is allowed to bring a restitutory action has not yet elapsed, she shall enjoy not only the benefit of entire restitution, but also be entitled to any other relief granted by Our laws to minors. For if We desire that children should manifest for their parents the respect, honor, and obedience to which the latter are entitled, We also desire that parents should do nothing to the detriment of their children. Moreover, We do not think that it is consonant with religious duty to entertain contempt for the children of a first marriage, nor that it is proper for mothers, their second husbands, or the issue of a second marriage, to profit by the acquisition of an estate left to children of the first marriage by their father.

  Therefore, Your Glory, along with the Most Blessed Archbishop of the Church of Antioch, will see that the provisions which it has pleased Us to enact by this Imperial Pragmatic Law are executed.