A judge shall not inflict torture upon any person accused of crime, before he who brings the accusation (if he is unwilling to produce the informer in court), enters into an obligation in writing, confirmed by the signatures of three witnesses, that if the accused is proved to be innocent by competent evidence, he himself will suffer the penalty which he attempted to inflict upon another. After the innocence of the accused has been established, the accuser shall be placed in custody by the judge, until he brings the informer into court, that the truth may be ascertained; and, should he not produce said informer, he shall, without delay, give his name, so that, when brought before the judge, he may prove what he has alleged. If, however, the judge is unable to elicit the truth, on account of the intervention of some powerful person, or the patronage of a noble, or through fear of the royal power, he must attempt to bring the matter to the attention of the king, if he be near at hand; but, if he is at a distance, he must lay his information before the bishop, or the governor of the province; in order that the superior authority of these officials may cause the matter to be properly investigated. Where the judge neglects to give such notice, the complainant shall be indemnified, at the expense of the said judge, for the entire property lost or stolen, by order of the king or of the bishop. If the informer cannot prove what he alleged, he alone shall be liable to make amends for the consequences of his act. If the property stolen is of great value, and a freeborn person is implicated, he shall return ninefold the value of the property, by way of reparation, and shall be rendered infamous; and, if the culprit is a slave, he shall pay sixfold the value of the property, and shall receive in addition, a hundred lashes. Where said freeman has not sufficient property to render satisfaction as aforesaid, he shall be surrendered as a slave to him whom he attempted to render infamous by a false accusation, and to him whom he attempted to deceive. If a slave should not have the property wherewith to render satisfaction, as aforesaid, or, if his master should be unwilling to pay the sum required in his behalf, he shall at once surrender the slave in satisfaction of his crime. =II. A Slave, Acting as Informer, must not be Believed, unless the Testimony of his Master is also Given.= If a slave, without the knowledge of his master, should give information of a theft, his statement shall not be believed, unless his master should testify that he was trustworthy, and should thereby establish his honor and credibility. =ANCIENT LAW.= =III. Where the Informer Knew of the Commission of the Theft.=