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| Centre d'histoire du droit | |
|---|---|
| Name | Centre d'histoire du droit |
| Native name | Centre d'histoire du droit |
| Established | 20th century |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Type | Research centre, archive, museum |
| Director | (see Organization and Governance) |
| Parent institution | Faculty of Law and Humanities institutions |
Centre d'histoire du droit The Centre d'histoire du droit is a Paris‑based research centre and archival institution dedicated to the study of Roman law, Canon law, Napoleonic Code, French Revolution, Ancien Régime, Legal history of France, Comparative law, European legal history and related legal traditions. It collaborates with university faculties such as Université Paris 1 Panthéon‑Sorbonne, Université Paris Nanterre, École des Chartes, and museums like the Musée de l'Histoire de France to support scholars, teachers, and curators engaged with primary sources from medieval to modern periods.
Founded amid scholarly renewal following the influence of figures like Émile Durkheim, Jacques Le Goff, Charles‑Victor Langlois, and Charles Seignobos, the Centre developed in conversation with institutions such as Bibliothèque nationale de France, Archives nationales (France), Société d'histoire du droit, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles‑Lettres and research networks linked to Centre national de la recherche scientifique and Collège de France. Early partnerships involved legal historians influenced by the works of François Olivier-Martin, Jean Gaudemet, Jean‑Pierre Poly, Georges Bataille and comparative scholars from Heidelberg University, University of Bologna, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University and University of Chicago. The Centre's archival acquisitions reflect transfers from municipal archives of Paris, provincial archives of Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and diplomatic collections associated with treaties like the Treaty of Versailles and the Congress of Vienna.
The Centre's mission aligns with initiatives from Unesco, Council of Europe, European Research Council and collaborations with projects on medieval charters, notarial registers, legal codifications such as the Code civil des Français, Code pénal, Constitution of the Fifth Republic (France), and transnational comparisons involving Canon law, Roman law, Mercantile law, Maritime law and Customary law. Research programs examine precedents like the Edict of Nantes, the Peace of Westphalia, and legislation emerging from events such as the French Revolution of 1789. Partnerships include the Institut d'études avancées de Paris, European University Institute, Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, St Andrews Centre for Medieval Studies, and thematic networks on property law histories, notarial practice, and legal iconography linked to collections in the Louvre, Musée Carnavalet, and Victoria and Albert Museum.
Collections comprise manuscript holdings, printed legal texts, and documentary series sourced from repositories like the Archives nationales, Archives départementales de la Seine, Bibliothèque Sainte‑Geneviève, and private donations from families associated with jurists such as Domat, Pothier, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Antoine‑Jean Letronne and Étienne Pasquier. Holdings include medieval cartularies, notarial acts, royal ordinances, registers of the Parlement de Paris, trial records from cases involving figures like Danton and Robespierre, and comparative collections featuring editions from Corpus Juris Civilis, Corpus Iuris Canonici, and early printed law books from printers like Gutenberg and Aldus Manutius. The Centre also curates iconographic archives relating to landmarks such as Palais de Justice, Paris, Place Vendôme, and documents tied to events like the Storming of the Bastille and the July Revolution.
The Centre publishes monographs, edited volumes, and periodicals in collaboration with presses like Éditions du CNRS, Presses universitaires de France, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and series co‑edited with École Française de Rome, Casa de Velázquez, and the Max Planck Institute. Its flagship journal appears alongside established periodicals including Revue historique, Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, Revue de droit public, Speculum, English Historical Review, Bulletin de la Société d'histoire du droit de France, and specialized series that engage with scholarship from Heidelberg Journal of Legal History and Journal of Legal History.
The Centre supports degree programs and seminars within faculties such as Université Paris 1 Panthéon‑Sorbonne, Université Paris II Panthéon‑Assas, École Pratique des Hautes Études, École nationale des chartes, and collaborates on doctoral supervision with scholars affiliated to CNRS, EHESS, Institut Catholique de Paris, and international doctoral schools at University of Bologna, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard Law School, and Yale Law School. It runs summer schools, intensive courses, and training workshops on paleography, diplomatics, and archival research tied to curricula from Sorbonne Université and exchange programs sponsored by the European Commission and Fulbright Commission.
The Centre organizes exhibitions and public programs jointly with institutions such as the Musée Carnavalet, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Palais de Justice de Paris, Musée de Cluny, Musée des Archives Nationales, Institut du Monde Arabe, and civic partners including the Mairie de Paris. Past exhibitions highlighted manuscripts from Chartres Cathedral, legal instruments from the era of Louis XIV, notarial books from Provence, and interpretative displays on the Dreyfus Affair, the Napoleonic reforms, and emblematic trials like the Trial of Marie Antoinette. Outreach includes lectures featuring guests from European Court of Human Rights, International Court of Justice, Cour de cassation (France), and podcasts produced with media partners such as France Culture and Radio France.
Governance combines academic leadership drawn from faculties at Université Paris 1 Panthéon‑Sorbonne, administrative oversight linked to Ministry of Higher Education and Research (France), and advisory boards including representatives from CNRS, INHA (Institut national d'histoire de l'art), Archives nationales, and international partners such as Max Planck Society and British Academy. The directorate often comprises historians of law, archivists from École nationale des chartes, and legal scholars formerly affiliated with Collège de France, Sorbonne Law School, and research centers like the Centre de recherches historiques.
Category:Research institutes in France Category:Legal history