De revolutionibus ... : la place du code civil en Louisiane et dans l'univers du droit quatre cents ans après Copernic

For the first "Civil Law and its Codes: a Journey Across the Americas" Workshop, we will host Professor Olivier Moréteau, Russell B. Long Eminent Scholars Academic Chair and director of the Center of Civil Law Studies at the Louisiana State University Law Center.

A presentation by the Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law, in collaboration with the Grupo Hispano de la Facultad de Derecho.

Attendence of this conference provides 1.5 hours of continuing legal education hours to members of the Quebec Bar, as per the Bar's mandatory professional training requirements.

Abstract:

Just as in the geocentric or even heliocentric worldview that preceded the Copernican revolution, the civil law universe continues to have the civil code as its centre.

The teaching of comparative law makes it the focal point in the study of civil law systems, while the constitution, human rights and other exogenous forces sometimes exert a greater attractive force, in a legal universe which is filling itself with manifold laws and codes, as well as texts and practices informed by the common law. Has the civil code become a peripheral source in a centreless universe?

Starting with a brief overview of the situation in Louisiana, compared to other regions in the Americas and in Europe, an attempt to model the decline and reformation of systems will be presented, accompanied by a reflection on the attractive power of the civil code.