Chapter: Retracting Testimony

1. If a witness withdraws his testimony before the judge has ruled on it, the testimony is not acted upon.

2. Should something occur after a witness has given his testimony that would render it inadmissible, the testimony is set aside so long as judgment has not yet been executed. Examples include: falsely accusing someone of fornication, committing a major sin, or engaging in an act of dishonesty that disqualifies him as a witness. In any such case the judge may not rule on the basis of that testimony.

3. If the witness dies, his death does not harm the testimony and the judge may still give judgment on its basis.

4. When two witnesses have testified and a judgment has been issued on their testimony, then both retract and state that they were mistaken, the judgment already concluded is not overturned. Instead, they are liable for whatever loss their testimony caused the party against whom they testified. The same applies if they had lied deliberately: they must compensate the damage.
   A secondary opinion holds that no liability is incurred when the error was unintentional, but the first view is preferable, for property must be guaranteed whether the loss is caused deliberately or by mistake.
   If only one of the two witnesses withdraws his testimony, he is liable for one-half of the damages entailed by his evidence.

5. If two witnesses testify that a man has emancipated his slave and the judge, relying on their testimony, pronounces the slave free, then they retract, the slave is not returned to bondage. The two witnesses must instead pay the slave’s full value to his former owner, whether they had lied deliberately or were honestly mistaken. A minority opinion says they owe nothing when their mistake was genuine, but the first position is more consistent, for property must be indemnified for harm done in error just as for harm done intentionally. In every case the right of walaʾ (clientage) of the freed slave belongs to the emancipator.

6. If they testify that a man sold his slave to another man and later admit that their testimony was false, the slave is appraised. If his value exceeds the stated sale price, they must pay the difference to the original owner. If the purchaser was the defendant against whom they had testified in favor of the seller, the two witnesses must refund the price and, should the buyer so choose, take the slave for themselves.