The Code Napoleon and the Common-law World: The Sesquicentennial Lectures Delivered at the Law Center of New York University, December 13-15, 1954Bernard Schwartz Originally published: New York: New York University Press, 1956. x, 438 pp. This book consists of papers delivered by participants in the conference sponsored by the New York University Institute of Comparative Law to honor the 150th anniversary of the French Civil Code, which was the largest public celebration of the event in the legal world. The papers deal with the influence of the Code upon common-law countries in their efforts to manage statute and case law and gives examples of modern attempts at restatement of the law and uniform state laws as examples of the effect of the Code's coherence and logic. The papers were given by notable legal scholars such as Benjamin Akzin, René Cassin, C.J. Friedrich, Arthur von Mehren, Roscoe Pound, Thibadeau Rinfret, Max Rheinstein, Angelo Piero Sereni, Jack Bernard Tate and Arthur T. Vanderbilt. At the time of these lectures Schwartz was Director of the Institute. Includes a bibliography by Julius J. Marke. Reprint of the first edition. BERNARD SCHWARTZ [1923-1997] was professor of law and director of the Institute of Comparative Law, New York University. He was the author of over fifty books, including French Administrative Law and the Common-Law World (1954, reprinted 2006), the five-volume Commentary on the Constitution of the United States (1963-1968), Constitutional Law: A Textbook (2d ed., 1979), Administrative Law: A Casebook (4th ed., 1994) and A History of the Supreme Court (1993). |
From inside the book
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Page 21
... decision , as it is too often thought of , but as the fulfillment of a promise made to the French people both by their kings and by their revolutionary governments . It appears as the result of a long evolution , an evolution that runs ...
... decision , as it is too often thought of , but as the fulfillment of a promise made to the French people both by their kings and by their revolutionary governments . It appears as the result of a long evolution , an evolution that runs ...
Page 24
... decision of actual difficulties , with a bulk of details and exceptions very difficult to use . Of equal importance is a last consideration : the legislature should not " bind the action of the future and oppose course of human events ...
... decision of actual difficulties , with a bulk of details and exceptions very difficult to use . Of equal importance is a last consideration : the legislature should not " bind the action of the future and oppose course of human events ...
Page 25
... decision should necessarily be left , in any concrete set of circumstances , to the courts . The rule of Article 146 , for instance , governs the mar- riage of insane persons . But there are various mental diseases that alter the ...
... decision should necessarily be left , in any concrete set of circumstances , to the courts . The rule of Article 146 , for instance , governs the mar- riage of insane persons . But there are various mental diseases that alter the ...
Page 28
... decisions . gen- It is true , finally , that the courts did to a certain extent adjust the law to modern circumstances . They did it , however , with the feeling of their subordinate position . They recognized that any important change ...
... decisions . gen- It is true , finally , that the courts did to a certain extent adjust the law to modern circumstances . They did it , however , with the feeling of their subordinate position . They recognized that any important change ...
Page 29
... decision of concrete cases . The discussion was therefore greatly clarified and narrowed . The question was often which of two principles , apparently conflicting on the given occasion , should prevail over the other ; but at least the ...
... decision of concrete cases . The discussion was therefore greatly clarified and narrowed . The question was often which of two principles , apparently conflicting on the given occasion , should prevail over the other ; but at least the ...
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Popular passages
Page 83 - The rule of the common law, that statutes in derogation thereof are to be strictly construed, has no application to this code. The code establishes the law of this state respecting the subjects to which it relates, and its provisions and all proceedings under it are to be liberally construed, with a view to effect its objects and to promote justice.
Page 43 - La liberté consiste à pouvoir faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas à autrui; ainsi l'exercice des droits naturels de chaque homme n'a de bornes que celles qui assurent aux autres membres de la société la jouissance de ces mêmes droits; ces bornes ne peuvent être déterminées que par la loi.
Page 247 - Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.
Page 44 - Judicial power, as contradistinguished from the power of the laws, has no existence. Courts are the mere instruments of the law, and can will nothing. When they are said to exercise a discretion it is a mere legal discretion, a discretion to be exercised in discerning the course prescribed by law ; and when that is discerned it is the duty of the Court to follow it. Judicial power is never exercised for the purpose of giving effect to the will of...
Page 82 - And it was resolved by them, that for the sure and true interpretation of all statutes in general (be they penal or beneficial, restrictive or enlarging of the common law) four things are to be discerned and considered : — "1st.
Page 184 - Stripped of all disguises, the process amounts to an unauthorized interference with the normal operation of complainant's legitimate business precisely at the point where the profit is to be reaped, in order to divert a material portion of the profit from those who have earned it to those who have not; with special advantage to defendant in the competition because of the fact that it is not burdened with any part of the expense of gathering the news. The transaction speaks for itself and a court...
Page 396 - Absolute authority exists in the following cases : — ( 1 ) Every court is absolutely bound by the decisions of all courts superior to itself. A court of first instance cannot question a decision of the Court of Appeal, nor can the Court of Appeal refuse to follow the judgments of the House of Lords. (2) The House of Lords is absolutely bound by its own decisions.
Page 250 - ... that with us the law of the constitution, the rules which in foreign countries naturally form part of a constitutional code, are not the source but the consequence of the rights of individuals, as defined and enforced by the Courts...
Page 175 - Elle (la vente) est parfaite entre les parties, et la propriété est acquise de droit à l'acheteur à l'égard du vendeur dès qu'on est convenu de la chose et du prix, quoique la chose n'ait pas encore été livrée ni le prix payé.