This article is about the historical Faculty of Law (and Economics) of Paris (12th century – 1970). Not to be confused with the University of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Paris (1971–...), its direct inheritor which in 1990 took the name "Panthéon-Assas University".
Faculty of Law of Paris
Faculté de droit de Paris
Other name
c. 1100 – 1229: École de droit de Paris
1229–1679: Consultissima decretorum facultas (Faculty of Canon Law)
1679–1793: Faculté de droit civil et canonique
1802–1896: École de droit de Paris
1896–1950s: Faculté de droit de Paris
1950s–1970: Faculté de droit et d'économie de Paris
Active
12th century–1970 (1970)
The Faculty of Law of Paris (French: Faculté de droit de Paris), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five[1] faculties of the University of Paris ("the Sorbonne"), from the 12th century until 1970.
The institutions descended from the Faculty of Law of Paris are:
Sorbonne Law School (École de droit de la Sorbonne), law undergraduate and graduate school of Panthéon-Sorbonne University, best law school in France and 17th best law school in the world according to QS
At the dissolution of the Sorbonne in 1970, its two main buildings were place du Panthéon and rue d'Assas.[6] Most of its law professors (88 out of 108) decided to perpetuate the faculty of law and economics by creating and joining a university of law offering the same programs within the same two buildings; therefore, they created the "University of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Paris", now called Panthéon-Assas University.[7][8][9] Likewise, most of the economics professors (35 out of 41) preferred to found the multidisciplinary Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University with professors of the faculty of humanities of Paris and a few professors of law.[9]
History
c. 1100 – 1223: Law School of Paris
Pierre Abélard, teacher at the great cathedral school of Notre-Dame de Paris (that would eventually become the Sorbonne), writing with the influence of his wife Héloïse, stressed that subjective intention determines the moral value of human action and therefore that the legal consequence of an action is related to the person that commits it and not merely to the action. With this doctrine, Abelard created in the Middle Ages the idea of the individual subject central to modern law. This gave to School of Notre-Dame de Paris (later the University of Paris) a recognition of its expertise in the area of Law, even before the faculty of Law existed and the school even recognized as an "universitas" and even if Abelard was primarily a logician and a theologian. The law grew afterwards to be a discipline in its own rights (rather than only a subject within theology and philosophy), and a faculty of law was founded.
1223–1679: Faculty of Canon Law
The Pope forbade Roman law in Paris in 1223 with the decretalSuper Specula. Afterwards, the Paris Law Faculty was called "Faculté de décret" or "Consultissima decretorum facultas", meaning Faculty of Canon Law.[10]
After the Edict of Saint-Germain of April 1679 by Louis XIV reestablished the teaching of Roman law in Paris, the faculty was known as the "faculty of civil and canon law".
Louis XIV also introduced French Customary Law into the programs.
The faculty was closed alongside other faculties on September 15, 1793, by the French Revolution.
1802–1970: Faculty of Law of Paris
In 1802, the faculty of law was re-opened, and was called "the School of Law of Paris" (l'École de droit de Paris). In 1896, the law faculty and the henceforth four other Parisian faculties were grouped together to recreate the University of Paris. In the late 1950s, it became a "faculty of law and economics".
The Code Civil was taught after its creation in 1804. The programs were reformed at the end of the 19th century.
Originally, the faculty of law was not organized around research centers and professors were pursuing their research as part of faculty of law in general. Hence, only newly emerging fields of research would have newly created institutes, whereas traditional subjects such as Roman Law and Legal History, Private Law in general and Public law in general, would not necessarily have ones.
"Doctorate courses" existed in legal studies at that time until they were replaced in 1925 by the "Diplôme d'études supérieures". The Decree of the 2 May 1925 created in each faculty of Law 4 DES: DES in Roman Law and Legal history, DES in Private Law, DES in public Law and DES in Politics and Economics. It required students to obtain two of them undergraduate studies to be able to begin a doctorate (PhD). In 1964, the undergraduate studies took 4 years (4-year licence, and eventually 3-year licence and a one-year maîtrise) and only one DES was necessary to begin a doctorate. 2 additional DES are created in each faculty: DES in Criminal Law and Politics and Economics are separated in two DES.
1970: Dissolution
Following the events of May 1968, the faculties of the University of Paris became independent universities[12]
Most law professors (88 out of 108) decided to perpetuate the faculty of law and economics[9] within the same two buildings (Panthéon and Assas). Therefore, they created the "University of Law, Economics and social sciences of Paris" (Université de droit, d'économie et de sciences sociales de Paris), administratively shortened as Paris II, and currently named Panthéon-Assas University,[7] which is therefore considered as its direct inheritor.[8] Panthéon-Assas inherited the teaching programs and research centers from the Faculty of Law.[13] Some joined interdisciplinary universities in Paris, like Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Paris Descartes University, Paris-East Créteil University (these names were formed later), or outside Paris.
In 1753, Louis XV decided that a new building would be constructed for the faculty of law on the place du Panthéon. Jacques-Germain Soufflot, alumnus of the faculty who had become the architect of the King designed and supervised the construction. It took place from 1771 to 1773 and the new building opened in 1774.[15]
In the 1950s, a new building was constructed rue d'Assas in Paris. It was designed by Charles Lemaresquier, Alain le Normand and François Carpentier[16] to accommodate the growing number of students at the University of Paris.[17] It was built between 1959 and 1963[16] on the former grounds of Société Marinoni.[18] At the time of its inauguration, its main lecture theatre was the largest in France, with 1,700 seats[19]
René David (1945–1968, went in 1968 to Aix-Marseille University until 1976), one of the most prominent professors of comparative law in the world in the 20th century, honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, Brussels, Ottawa, Basel, Leicester and Helsinki, recipient of the Amnesty International's Erasmus Prize in 1976.
Suzanne Bastid (1947–1977, Paris II from 1971) was the first woman professor of Law of France, the first woman to be a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Secretary General of the Institute of International Law (Nobel prize 1904).
Jean Carbonnier (1955–1976, Paris II from 1971), one of the most famous French professors in Law of the 20th Century.[27]
Gérard Cornu (born 1967,[28] Paris II from 1971), who wrote the new French Code of Civil Procedure in the late 1970s[29] and is also well known in France for his Dictionary of Legal Vocabulary, translated in English.[30][31]
François Terré (1969–1999, Paris II from 1971), president in 2008 of the legal section of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, head of the private committee for the reform of French Law of Obligations.[32]
Jacques Robert (1969–1979, Paris II from 1971), former member of the Constitutional Council of France
Notable alumni (1100–1679)
Alumni of the Paris Law Faculty: Classical Ages
Saint Ivo, patron of the lawyers and of abandoned children, "Advocate of the Poor"
The Pope forbade the teaching of Roman law in Paris in 1223 with the decretalSuper Specula. Until the reintroduction of Roman Law (civil law) by Louis XIV, people who wanted to learn civil law (Roman Law) and become lawyers would usually go to the nearby faculty of Law of the University of Orléans. Hence, Molière, Calvin, Perrault, Cujas, Rabelais, Fermat, La Boétie and others went to the latter.[11]
Saint Ivo, patron of the lawyers of abandoned children, and of Brittany, "Advocate of the Poor"[33]
Shapour Bakhtiar, last prime minister of Iran before the Islamic Republic, voluntary soldier during WW2 to help France, opponent to monarchy, to clerical rule and to the communists, assassinated in France by agents of the Islamic Republic in 1991
^ abHottin, Christian (1999). Universités et grandes écoles à Paris : les palais de la science (in French). Action artistique de la ville de Paris., p. 206.
^Hottin, Christian (1999). Universités et grandes écoles à Paris : les palais de la science (in French). Action artistique de la ville de Paris., p. 188.
^le Tourneau, Philippe (31 December 2008). "In memoriam Gérard Cornu". Bibliothèque de Philosophie Comparée (in French). Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
Abt, Lawrence Edwin; Riess, Bernard Frank, eds. (1966). Progress in Clinical Psychology. Grune & Stratton.
Conac, Gérard (2005). "La fondation de l'université Paris I : François Luchaire, pilote d'une transition institutionnelle". In Bougrab, Jeannette; Maus, Didier (eds.). François Luchaire, un républicain au service de la République (in French). Publications de la Sorbonne. ISBN978-2859445157.