Autore
Derasse, Nicolas

Titolo
Words and liberty. Hopes for legal defence during the French Revolution
Periodico
Quaderni storici
Anno: 2012 - Volume: 141 - Fascicolo: 3 - Pagina iniziale: 745 - Pagina finale: 770

During the Ancien Régime, the professions of lawyer and attorney inFrance were subject to strong criticism. Bogged down by internal conflicts,these jurists were criticised for practices that did not comply with the codeof ethics, which damaged the image that those subject to trial had of theserepresentatives of defence. At the same time, the reformers of the Age ofEnlightenment emphasised the severity of the provisions of the criminal ordinanceof 1670, and particularly the limitation of the right to defence incriminal matters. Faced with these pitfalls, the members of the ConstituentAssembly applied themselves, from the early days of the Revolution, to reforminglegal defence as a whole. From 1789, defendants had a counsel whocould plead before the criminal court, which was now a public court. Atthe same time, the Constituents abolished lawyers and attorneys and set upfreedom of defence by authorising parties to choose an unofficial defender,an ordinary citizen or a man of law, who would agree to provide legal assistancefree of charge. The decade of the revolution has allowed us to measurethese radical changes, particularly to assess the continuity and breakdownin the area of defence rights, as well as the fate and behaviour of the newplayers in legal defence. Between 1789 and 1799, legal practices highlightedthe pioneering nature of these reforms, which truly transformed criminaltrials. Nevertheless, the French Revolution was far from erasing all the excessesfound in the area of defence prior to 1789. In this respect, traditionsremained - particularly the presence of jurists - and the fact that they didremain left room for the idea that the legislator had sometimes been toodaring in devising legal defence.



SICI: 0301-6307(2012)141:3<745:WALHFL>2.0.ZU;2-M
Testo completo: http://www.mulino.it/download/article/10.1408/38808
Testo completo alternativo: http://www.mulino.it/doi/10.1408/38808

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