Section
The deposit-holder is a trustee and is not liable unless he oversteps the limits, is negligent, or betrays the trust. His word, backed by an oath, is accepted both with respect to the absence of any such fault and to his claim that the deposit was lost, or that “you authorised me to hand it over to so-and-so and I did so¹.”

If, after unwarranted procrastination, he alleges that he has returned the deposit, or if his heirs make that claim on his behalf, their assertion is not accepted without corroborating proof; the same rule applies to every trustee. Whenever he delays returning the deposit after the owner’s request, with no valid excuse and when returning it would entail no transport cost, he is liable. Yet if he was compelled to hand it over to someone other than its owner, he bears no liability.

Should he say to the owner, “I have one thousand of yours on deposit,” and later add, “You already took it,” or “It perished before that,” or “I thought it was still safe, then discovered it had been lost,” he is believed upon his oath and is not liable. Conversely, if he states, “I received a thousand from him as a deposit and it was lost,” while the owner insists, “No—rather, you took it by usurpation or as a usufructuary loan,” the deposit-holder is liable.