Faculty Of Law Of Paris
During the Middle Ages, it was one of the two most important faculties of law in the world, along with the faculty of law of the University of Bologna (the oldest in the world). Pierre Abélard, founder of modern law, was its precursor, as a teacher at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame de Paris, Andrea Alciato, founder of legal humanism, was a professor there, and Saint Ivo, patron of lawyers and "Advocate of the Poor" according to the Catholic Church, had studied there. The prohibition by the Pope of teaching of Roman Law limited, however, its growth, to the benefit of the nearby University of Orléans, where numerous important French people studied law. In 1679, King Louis authorized the teaching of Roman Law. Numerous French intellectuals and revolutionary, like Voltaire, Diderot and d'Alembert, Robespierre, etc. studied there. Between the French Revolution and its dissolution in 1970, numerous important people in France and in the world taught or studied there, including Victor Hugo, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Tocqueville, and Honoré de Balzac. The faculty of law is also mentioned in classical French literature, in particular in Les Misérables.
At the dissolution of the Sorbonne in 1970, its two main buildings were place du Panthéon and rue d'Assas. 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. 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.
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.
_Chapelle_de_Kerfons_Autel_et_retable_de_Saint-Yves_02.JPG)
1223–1679: Faculty of Canon Law
The Pope forbade Roman law in Paris in 1223 with the decretal Super Specula. Afterwards, the Paris Law Faculty was called "Faculté de décret" or "Consultissima decretorum facultas", meaning Faculty of Canon Law.
During this period, 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 this faculty.
1679–1793: Faculty of civil and canon law
.jpg)
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
Most law professors (88 out of 108) decided to perpetuate the faculty of law and economics 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, which is therefore considered as its direct inheritor. Panthéon-Assas inherited the teaching programs and research centers from the Faculty of Law. 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.
Likewise, most of its professors in economics (35 out of 41) preferred to join the multidisciplinary university, Paris I, later called Panthéon-Sorbonne University while others joined Panthéon-Assas University, Paris Dauphine University, Paris Descartes University (currently Paris Cité University) and Paris-East Créteil University.
Campuses
In 1680, Louis XIV decided to place the faculty of law at the Royal College.
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.
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 to accommodate the growing number of students at the University of Paris. It was built between 1959 and 1963 on the former grounds of Société Marinoni. At the time of its inauguration, its main lecture theatre was the largest in France, with 1,700 seats
Notable faculty
1100–1679
- Andrea Alciato, founder of legal humanism
1679–1793
- Mathieu-Antoine Bouchaud, author of the French Enlightenment and professor of law at the Paris Law Faculty
