Henri Capitant (1865–1937) was a French

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. He was a professor and noted teacher of law at

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

(1891) and at the

Faculty of Law of Paris The Faculty of Law of 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 faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

(1908). Several of his legal textbooks have had a lasting effect on French

legal education Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

, including ''Introduction à l' étude du droit civil'' (1898), ''Cours élémentaire de droit civil'' (1914-16 with Ambroise Colin), ''Questions de droit civil'' (1933) and ''Grands arrêts de la jurisprudence civile'' (1934). Capitant pursued an ideal of the unity of legal education,

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

and

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

. A declared conservative, he objected to legal innovation, which he saw as generally threatening to a purpose of law – the preservation of

individual liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

. He co-founded the

Paris Institute of Comparative Law The Paris Institute of Comparative Law ( French: ''Institut de droit comparé de Paris'', commonly referred to as "IDC") is a public institution of research and higher education which was founded in 1931 by Henri Capitant and Henri Lévy-Ullmann. ...

in 1931.

Association Henri Capitant

Convinced that

French law French law has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (), also known as judicial law, and public law (). Judicial law includes, in particular: * () * Criminal law () Public law includes, in particular: * Administrative law ( ...

represented the highest degree of legal culture, Capitant founded the ''Association des juristes de langue française'' in 1935, which was renamed upon his death to ''Association Henri Capitant pour la Culture Juridique Française'' and then to ''Association Henri Capitant des Amis de la Culture Juridique Française''. Partially subsidised by the French government, the Association publishes studies and organises scientific conferences. It has about 45 chapters around the world, including in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The Association's presidents have been Henri Capitant,

Jacques Charpentier Jacques Charpentier (18 October 1933 in Paris, France – 15 June 2017 in Lézignan-Corbières, France) was a French composer and organist. He is unrelated to either of two other eminent French musicians with the same surname (Marc-Antoine Charpe ...

, Robert Le Balle, Roger Houin, Philippe Malinvaud and Michel Grimaldi.

Bibliography

External links

Website of the Association Henri Capitant
1865 births 1937 deaths 19th-century French jurists 20th-century French jurists {{France-law-bio-stub